In Control
by mkmkmk
Summary: Meta Knight once had a very controlled emotional state. When he became angry, happy, or sad, he never truly showed it. That was until something changed, something threw him off, and he desperately wants that control back. (All rights reserved for their rightful owners, I do not own SSBB.) Pre-written beginning five chapters. Feel free to R&R and give advice!
1. Chapter 1

"Samus! Samus wait!" Without bothering to look back, the bounty hunter irritably dismissed Ike's distressed chittering. She had no patience for him anyway. The cheating bastard wasn't worth her time. "Samus I'm sorry, please wait!"

Then he caught her arm, and she turned on him, blue eyes blazing in hurt fury. "Sorry for what? Cheating on me with some random bimbo at a bar? Ha! Well apology not accepted, because frankly I don't want to be with a guy who thinks it's okay to lie to me!" She roughly smacked his arm away and stormed away. Samus swore beneath her breath as she felt her eyes sting with emotion. She sighed as she turned a corner, the burning behind her eyes fading as she fought for control. Ike's shoulders slumped as he helplessly watched the space bounty hunter walk out of sight. Soft footfalls silenced behind the warrior, unnoticed and unheard.

"You've surprised me yet again, Ike. I'd once believed you weren't one to make rash decisions." Ike jumped slightly at the familiar condescending voice and looked down. He sighed.

"Hey Meta Knight," he muttered glumly, giving the masked ball a sidewards glance. The small knight looked up at the mercenary with a steely gaze, dismay apparent in his shimmering gold eyes before they turned to stare down the hall.

"She won't forgive you easily, I know that much," the puff said, the obvious disappointment in the small knight's startlingly deep voice successfully making Ike feel worse than he already was. "It will be quite a time before she will truly trust you again. She isn't one to take cut-off relationships very well, as you should've learned from Captain Falcon." Ike bit his lip, making a small sound of acknowledgement as he casted look of shame down at his feet. Silence lapsed between the two friends before Meta Knight walked away moments later, softly excusing himself to fulfill some of the extra duties he had for the Smash Mansion. Ike watched the knight leave, his expression thoughtful.

Meta Knight was one of the few Brawlers who showed a sense of responsibility and maturity over things aside from himself, which surmised in him having a few extra privileges in exchange for the other things he does for the Mansion, aside from fighting.

The corners of his mouth turned down, Ike suddenly wished he had that grown-up sense of duty Meta Knight had, then maybe he might've not gotten so...distracted from his relationship. Ike sighed and trudged to his room.

* * *

Meta Knight tread quietly down twisting corridors Samus Aran had disappeared down, pondering where she might've gone considering her enraged state he'd witnessed earlier. If he assumed correctly, the bounty hunter would've gone down to either the training area or the weight room to blow off some steam. It wasn't long until he heard yelling, banging, and screams of terror, as well as a decidingly loud crashing that almost made him cringe. Whoever decided to mess with Samus now was surely a deadman. Meta Knight came to a stop by the weight room as another deafening crash sounded from within.

Sighing a quiet prayer, Meta Knight entered the room as a forty pound dumbbell came speeding by his head, caving the wall behind him in. Solid Snake soon darted past, causing Meta Knight to back into the doorway. A head of blonde hair appeared next, only mere seconds too late from taking Snake's head off with another weight.

"Snake, you cowardly son of a-!"

"Ms. Aran." At the firm usage of her surname, Samus came to an abrupt halt, feet nearly skidding on the floor. Meta Knight stood in the doorway, cape wrapped around his small, ball-like body. Samus frowned at him, and dropped the arm weight in her hand with a loud thud. She stepped back and crossed her arms.

"What?" Samus asked, irritated, "I'm kind of busy here." Meta Knight only sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, only to look up at her again with a sideways expression.

"Samus, I can see quite clearly that something is bothering you," he said softly, kindly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Her frown wavered and she looked away. Of all people Samus wouldn't have wanted to find her like this, Meta Knight was definitely around the top. While he was a dear friend, someone Samus believed she could count on for practically anything, it was the way he approached everything so calmly that made her feel childish. A feeling she despised more than anything in the world. She most definitely was not childish.

So she sat down heavily on a nearby bench press and put her head in her hands, her earlier anger dissipating into exasperation. Meta Knight remained in a strategic silence as he trotted over to her. He hopped onto the bench and sat too, his hands clasped together between his purple feet as he patiently waited for her to speak. Seconds turned to minutes before Samus straightened.

"Ike cheated on me," she finally muttered, clenched fists balled together in her lap as she faced away from the small knight, "I know I shouldn't be so worked up about it and I bet you think it's so kiddish of me to throw a freaking tantrum over something so trivial, but I can't help but feel betrayed by him." Meta Knight looked over, his intelligent yellow eyes studying her for a few seconds before he replied.

"Your reactions to discovering Ike's infidelity to you is far from being considered childish. In fact, had I been in a similar situation, I might've done the exact same thing," Meta Knight said, turning slightly to meet her shocked gaze. He chuckled softly at that, eyes transitioning into a soft amused pink. "Don't look so surprised! What is it, some sort of miracle that I too can feel emotion?" Samus laughed softly at his words and sighed as her mind mulled over what he said. The hurt from her very recent break-up eased mostly after a few moments of thoughtful silence. She knew that she'd have to confront Ike straight on about the matter between them, but for now she allowed herself to feel at peace in the presence of a friend. Finally, she stood, grinning as she turned to Meta Knight.

"Thanks for the talk Meta Knight. It really helped." The blue knight nodded and stood, brushing his cape behind him before wrapping the purple fabric around him in his natural habit.

"That's what friends are for," he said, jumping off the bench. He excused himself and disappeared behind the weight room's heavy metal doors. Samus smiled once at his small retreating figure, before returning to her workout routine.


	2. Chapter 2

Later...

"GAME!" Master Hand's voice reverberated throughout the arena, sending the already screaming crowd to their feet as Meta Knight spread his wings to welcome their cheers. He bowed once while his wings shape-shifted back into his cape and gazed at the unmoving form of his fallen adversary. Meta Knight trotted toward the trophy form of his opponent, Ganondorf, and placed a hand onto the golden base, reviving the dark wizard from his statue-like state.

"Good game," he said nonchalantly as he reached a hand up to shake, but Ganondorf ignored the sportsmanlike gesture completely, which earned him a few boos from the crowd. Meta Knight dropped his outstretched hand, barely refraining from rolling his eyes and turned away.

The wizard sneered at Meta Knight, hissing something about cheating balls of fluff as Master Hand teleported him to the award field. Meta Knight disappeared behind his dimensional cape and reappeared in the first place position, turning his back while twirling his sword a few times in his hand as he spoke the words he'd strived to live by since before he joined Smash Bros.

"The winner is...Meta Knight!" Master hand boomed.

"Victory is my destiny." And the crowd cheered and chanted on. Meta Knight heard Ganondorf muttering as the wizard clapped sullenly. Inwardly, Meta Knight was shaking his head. Some people would never change, no matter how much time passes. Using his cape again, he teleported back to the brawl setting room, where fans chose which players go against which, which stage the said players brawl on, and even what items are allowed and how often they'll fall.

Ganondorf and Master Hand appeared behind him soon after, Ganondorf glaring heatedly at at Mets Knight's approaching form. The small knight only ignored him, unfazed by the wizard's anger.

"Good game Meta Knight! If you do this in the tournament, you might end up in top tier again!" Master Hand said jovially, giving him a thumbs up. Meta Knight nodded as Ganondorf slipped away behind him.

"Thank you Master Hand. How has your brother been?"

Ganondorf grit his teeth as the rest of the conversation faded behind the overlapping voices of other Brawlers around the room. Damn that Meta Knight, he thought venomously, eyes narrowing toward the ground as images of the annoying masked puff flashed through his mind. Ever since Meta Knight's victory in the Smash Brawl Best Brawler Tournament, Ganondorf's irritation and jealousy at finding himself at the lowest tier, as well as being beaten up and embarrassed by a masked do-gooder freak, has been building up and was finally ready to be unleashed onto unsuspecting newcomers. A cruel smile twisted onto his face as he wandered aimlessly through the currently empty halls of the Smash Mansion. Or onto an unsuspecting holder of SS Top Tier. Dark energy danced at his fingertips, excited by the mere notion of inflicting pain upon all who dare to anger him...

But how to get at a guy like him? He frowned at the thought, his smile fading as spells of all sorts filtered through the depths of his darkness corrupted mind. Possibilities were rather limited when it came to Meta Knight, considering how not many things affect the knight's complicated yet calm disposition, war honed instincts, and intolerance for the actions of the injustice. The wizard stopped in place, closing his eyes in thought as he summoned up the memories of the past days in his mind. He remembered overhearing conversation whenever he ate lunch in the cafeteria, how Marth, Ike, and Meta Knight almost always sat together with the addition of anyone who wanted to join into an ever animated conversation. Ganondorf vaguely remembered being interested in a particular conversation about the two teenagers attempting to get Meta Knight to try something new, but were sharply rebuked by the knight who then stated how he wasn't one to try new things.

Ganondorf chuckled at the small bout of information, his laughter echoing down the halls, frightening and ominous. Olimar, who was lounging in a neighboring hallway, gave a little shriek and wet his expensive space suit.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning...

"Have any of you seen Meta Knight today?" It was probably the thousandth time he'd asked that question, and the morning wasn't even over. Ike searched almost every corner of the Mansion, every nook, every cranny, every place Meta Knight was sure to go. Hell, he even looked into the arcade room, and Meta Knight hated that place. It's much too noisy, the knight had said. Ike heaved a sigh, eyes flicking around for any sign of the blue knight.

"Hey Ike!" The mercenary flinched and looked back to see Marth running towards him. The prince's smile fell when he saw the worry filling his friend's gaze. "What's wrong?" Ike shook his head.

"I can't find Meta Knight anywhere," he said, biting the inside of his cheek as he looked around again. Marth frowned, cocking his head.

"That's strange," the prince murmured thoughtfully. "Which reminds me, I haven't seen Kirby or King Dedede either." Ike glanced over, surprised.

"I...haven't either…" Ike trailed off when he caught sight of a familiar head of shimmering blonde hair, making his throat close up with guilt and shame. Marth noticed too.

"Samus! Hey Samus!" The prince called, trotting over. The bounty hunter turned, her eyes flickering over Ike for fraction of a second before flitting over to rest on Marth.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Meta Knight? Ike's been looking for him all morning," he said, gesturing vaguely at Ike, who stood uncharacteristically timid behind the prince. Samus frowned thoughtfully.

"No I haven't actually… Have you checked the stadiums?" She asked, crossing her arms as she looked up at the prince. By that time, Ike had finally built up enough courage to approach the two of them, his stomach curling into knots as his chest tightened. He swallowed when he saw how Samus didn't bother to look at him until he stood next to Marth.

"I've been searching since I woke up. We'd scheduled a brawl match with Lucas and Red, but he didn't show up, so we had to postpone. Lucas and Red went looking for him in the town, and I searched here, but both ends turned up with nothing," he explained. The bounty hunter's eyebrows pinched slightly at this, her eyes betraying nothing except worry as she turned and looked around the room as if Meta Knight would appear suddenly. Knowing him, that could very well happen. But also knowing him, Meta Knight would never be late for a brawl match, nor anything else for that matter.

"Is there anyplace you haven't looked?" She asked upon looking back, her hands twisting together anxiously. Ike considered the question, mulling over the list of places he'd visited over the morning. Was there anyplace he hasn't looked? Ike frowned.

"I haven't checked the hospital, but I don't see why-"

"Hey guys!" A bright, cheery voice cut in and the three glanced over to see none other than Princess Peach, pink dress and all. "Have you heard what happened?" The others exchanged looks of worry and unease.

"What happened?" Marth asked, a small frown pinching his eyebrows together. Peach's eyes grew slightly sad and her cheery smile waned as she leaned forward.

"Sir Meta Knight was found injured in some grassy plain near town. Master Hand didn't say anything else other than that, but I heard that the townspeople who found him had to get a few of their memories wiped. Pretty serious huh?" Peach bit her lip as she watched the emotions play across the faces of the two boys and bounty hunter. She sighed.

"Master Hand said that Meta Knight will probably be better soon, but he didn't sound very sure about it…" Samus blinked, then immediately rounded on Ike.

"Why didn't you check the hospital!?" She shoved past him and began to sprint away. Marth quickly recovered and grabbed Ike's arm, practically dragging the stumbling mercenary behind him. They found Samus standing motionlessly in front of the hospital doors. She looked back at the two boys, hands twined together as she stepped back and gestured towards the door. Gulping quietly, Marth stepped up next to her and hesitantly turned the door handle, pushing open the heavy wooden door with a loud creak.

A single bed was occupied, standing out from the rest because of several colorful alien creatures crowding around a curtain. Despite the crowd, silence hung heavily in the air like a grim cloud. Samus nibbled on her lip, spotting two familiar figures standing off to the side. They looked up at her as she walked over, their normally jovial features instead hosting looks of dread and worry.


	4. Chapter 4

"Is Meta Knight-?"

"He's alive," King Dedede muttered, casting a glare towards the ground as he brought his large gloved fists together. "Man, when I find out who did this, I'm gonna-" Kirby and another gray puffball both frowned at him, bringing the penguin king's threat to an abrupt stop with angry shakes of their heads. Dedede huffed and crossed his arms like a petulant child. Samus sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"Woah! You look kinda like Meta Knight!" Samus and the three Dreamlanders turned to see Ike and Marth gaping at a black puffball wearing red and silver armor. The puff turned, glowing crimson eyes narrowing at them in a harsh glare that made the two boys flinch back.

"Yes, I realize I share many physically similar qualities with my counterpart. You don't need to point out something so obvious," he said coldly, before turning and muttering beneath his breath, "Idiotic humans…" A slight look of hurt crossed Marth's features.

"He isn't nice like Meta Knight," Marth whispered to Ike, who nodded in agreement. Samus sighed again as another, deeper voice spoke up.

"Cut it out, Dark," a masked magenta puff said nearby, slitted red eyes glaring disapprovingly, "you don't have to be an ass to everyone who makes that kind of comment." "Dark" scoffed.

"Shut up Galacta. At least you don't have to be constantly compared to your Star Warrior brother." It was then that the hospital doors suddenly opened and Master Hand drifted in.

"Ahem, will all non-Brawlers please exit the medical bay and return to your respectable dimensions, thank you." Meta Knight's counterpart, the magenta puff, and the other colorful beings either floated, walked, or phased out of the room, leaving Kirby, Dedede, Marth, Ike, and Samus alone in the room with Master Hand. The giant appendage floated over to the five Brawlers, coming to a stop by the curtained hospital bed. A large sigh emanated from him as his drifted closer to the ground in a rare showing of exhaustion.

"I supposed you five are wondering just what happened to our top Smasher, eh?" He asked. Dedede snorted rudely.

"No, we were just wondering if we could borrow some toenail clippers for our hideously long nose hairs."

"Are my nose hairs really hideous?" Marth asked Ike quietly. The mercenary shrugged.

"Well, you could find those in the storage roo-" Master Hand began.

"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!"

"Dedede!" Samus growled sharply at the penguin king. Dedede huffed, but quieted. Master Hand sighed again, rising from the ground and resting himself on top of a nearby bed.

"What happened to Meta Knight is a serious matter which happened yesterday night at 11:11 PM precisely. I was performing my nightly duties of checking the mansion's security systems when I sensed a very slight disturbance in the magical barriers. I went outside to see what it was and found townspeople pounding at the door. They told me that they found a Smasher lying in a plain near town." The hand shifted slightly, a few of his fingers gesturing vaguely toward Marth. "They told me it was you."

Marth blinked in surprised as Ike and Samus looked back at him. King Dedede and Kirby exchanged baffled looks.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold on," Dedede said, waving his mittened flippers and shaking his head, "If you're saying that they thought it was Marth, but it isn't, then you don't mean that Meta Knight…" He trailed off, staring incredulously at the giant hand. Master Hand shifted in a way that signified he was nodding.

"Yes, Dedede. The Smasher they brought to me was Meta Knight and he was gravely injured with both magical and physical wounds. I was able to quickly treat most of the major magical injuries, but his alienic genes had a strange sort of effect on his body and did not allow me to cast any spells to fix any physically inflicted wounds or to reverse the forced transition into his current form," Master Hand explained.

"Wait! Current form? What do you mean by that?" Ike asked. Master Hand rose from the bed, stretching his fingers.

"Perhaps it would be better if I showed you what I mean," he said as he drifted over to the curtained bed and pushed the white draperies aside. For a moment, all everyone could do was stare, except Master Hand of course, who floated patiently off to the side. Honestly, Samus almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"H-how?" Dedede stammered, "Who would-? What?" Ike and Marth remained frozen in a baffled silence, seemingly unable to speak. Kirby trotted forward and clambered on to the bed, lightly touching the knight's steel mask.

"Poyo?" Kirby burbled, shaking Meta Knight's unarmored shoulder. "Meda nigh'!?"

"Yo Kirby. Meta Knight won't wake up until later, okay?" Dedede said after clearing his throat as walked over and took the pink puff down from the bed. "How 'bout you go get Pikachu and Jigglypuff an' do a quick team match, eh? You could get some ice cream afterwards, and I know how much you like strawberry." Kirby nodded, but his expression remained sad as he left the room, sapphire gaze downcast. Seeing that kind of look on the puffball's face made Samus's stomach twist uncomfortably.

Poor Kirby, she thought sadly. Master Hand cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles in a nervous habit that made the remaining four Brawlers cringe.

"You four understand how busy I have been lately, with all the newcomers as well as the "Project M" branch being used more frequently. I cannot keep watch over Meta Knight 24/7, and I was hoping the group of you could perhaps take a few hours out of the next couple days to maybe watch over your friend? With his current condition, I'm afraid there are a few things that might, well, set off something I may have no control over, even though the possibility of such a thing is mostly improbable." Master Hand's voice suddenly adopted a persuasive sort tone. "And, it would be very nice to have an extra set of eyes to look over him, especially some from caring friends who just want Meta to get better, right?"


	5. Chapter 5

They all exchanged looks.

"Well, I was gonna bring Kirby in here to visit anyway, I guess I could keep an eye on our buddy for an hour or so during lunchtime," Dedede said, shrugging his shoulders. Samus nodded.

"Yeah, I could come in during the mornings for a few hours before I do some of the late-morning team matches or something," she said with a shrug, "No biggie." Ike and Marth glanced at each other.

"I guess that leaves us logging in a few hours before curfew then?" Marth asked, giving Ike a pointed look. Ike raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, I'm just as ready to help as anyone else here." Master Hand chuckled and began floating towards the door.

"Excellent! You all will start tomorrow morning, is that alright?" The giant hand asked. The four brawlers nodded. Master Hand chuckled again. "Perfect! Have a nice day kids, I'll be seeing you four tomorrow!" The door slowly creaked closed, the faded white of Master Hand's wrist disappearing behind the solid oak wood as it quietly shut. King Dedede stretched, and yawned loudly, catching the other three's attention.

"Well, I'm gonna go see if there are any matches I could join. See ya!" He said with a toss of his hand as he waddled through the door. Ike humphed and glanced at Marth, who stared at Meta Knight's unmoving figure, appearing to be in deep thought.

"Marth, you gonna go find some team matches?" Marth flicked his gaze over then rested it again on Meta Knight.

"In a second," he said, walking towards the occupied bed. Ike frowned, as did Samus.

"What are you-"

"Sh…" Marth's hand fell on the buckle holding Meta Knight's mask to his face. Samus gasped and Ike started forward.

"Hey! Stop that!" Marth looked back, frowning in confusion.

"What? We've seen his face before!"

"Well not like this!" Marth rolled his eyes and took the mask off. Thus starting another bout of blatant staring, although it was rather short-lived. "He looks nothing like me. I'm way cuter." Glaring, Ike whacked the prince on the head, earning pained "Hey!"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you to respect other people's privacy!?" Ike hissed in anger. "That's it, you're out of here." Ike groaned, dragging him towards the hospital exit by the ear, muttering something about chaining Marth's hands together while the prince whined about being treated so roughly. Samus watched them leave with faint amusement, shaking her head as the boys vanished behind the door.

Samus gazed back at Meta Knight, who slumbered on without so much as a sound. She walked over and sat at the edge of his bed near his arm. Slowly, she placed her hand against his forehead, the moist skin seeming to burn feverishly against the cool flesh of her palm as she assessed the damage done to him. His right shoulder had been wrapped entirely in sanitary white cloth, a soft red splotch dominating the centermost part. Around his right wrist was a cast, as well as a brace on his left foot, and, to top it off, a fat partially white Band-Aid stuck to his left cheek, already mostly soaked through with blood.

Samus bit her lip, her eyebrows pinching in determination. "Don't worry, Meta Knight. We'll take care of you," she murmured, brushing back the thick indigo blue hair from the knight's damp forehead, "and we'll find out who did this and get you back to normal. I promise." She took his oddly cold hand and squeezed it, stilling for a moment in case he was capable of squeezing her back. He remained motionless, his pulse thrumming gently through the pale skin of his palm. Samus sighed, releasing the knight's hand as she left the room to see if she could join any 1v1 matches.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! This may or may not be my first Brawl story (I have a feeling it isn't) and I feel I may have portrayed pretty much all the characters incorrectly.)**

 **The way I write these characters are based from a mixture of other writer's fanfics, the characters' games I've played (mainly Kirby and Metroid), and the information on the wonderful Internet** **(because I've never played Fire Emblem), as well as the belief that the years of having commingle with people from neighboring games may broaden the views of many characters. And the belief that Meta Knight isn't evil, 'cause he can't be. 'Cause I'm runnin' this joint.**

 **Anyway, feel free to review on any mistakes you find, if I should tweak any of the characters' personalities, or advice you'd want to give to improve my work. Flames are unappreciated, but if my story so angers any of you that you wish burn me alive, so be it.**

 **All rights reserved. I do not own Nintendo nor any of their abundance of games.**

* * *

The next morning…

Samus groaned as her alarm clock blared at her to wake up. Her hand came smashing down on top of the 'snooze' button before she rolled over to relish in the extra five minutes of catching up on the sleep she missed last night. The whole Meta Knight fiasco kept her mind buzzing, which resulted in her doing whatever she could to make her fall asleep. Unfortunately nothing worked, but she succeeded in going to bed before 1 o'clock. Her phone buzzed and Samus quietly screamed into her pillow.

The bounty hunter sat up and snatched the vibrating electronic from her bedside table, squinting at the luminescent screen when she turned it on. _Get out of bed you!_ It said in white across the middle of the screen. Turning it off, Samus sighed, her face plopping down on her pillow. Then her alarm clock went off again.

 _For the love of-_

* * *

Samus tried her best to be quiet as she pushed the hospital doors open, cringing as it groamed at her disturbance. She grabbed a chair from a nearby bed and walked slowly to Meta Knight's still form, reaching a hand out to clasp it around his wrist, feeling his pulse thud against her fingers as she sat in her chair. Samus felt him twitch beneath her hand and his head turned towards her with a sigh. She gazed in wonder as a small frown creased his forehead while his mouth thinned into a flat line. The hand in her grasp turned and weakly grabbed her back.

Samus's twitched up into a half-smile at the small movement. She slipped her hand down into his and took out a book from the bag she'd brought with her. She read it quietly out loud as she mindlessly traced soothing circles onto the back of the knight's hand.

* * *

King Dedede trotted in with Kirby skipping at his heels, two trays piled high with food balanced precariously on his gloved fins. A nurse pushing a cart with dirty dishes rushed past them. Dedede cast her passing glare as Kirby sped ahead to excitedly greet an unconscious Meta Knight. Dedede shook his head and plopped down in the seat placed next to the knight, setting one tray onto the floor before digging into his own plate.

"Poyo poy! Go-moni Meda Nigh'!" Kirby burbled happily at the knight's unmoving form. Dedede shook his head at the pink puff's childish gibberish and called the youth over to eat. Kirby did so with enthusiasm, inhaling half his portion is seconds.

"Slow down kiddo," Dedede chided through a mouthful of bacon, "we have a lot of hours to cover before we can leave. Mister Really-Big-Hand's orders." Kirby looked at him confusedly but turned and began to actually chew his food.

"'Kay."

* * *

"Ike. Please explain to me why you brought _handcuffs_." Ike turned to gaze at the prince trailing uneasily behind him.

"Because _someone_ couldn't keep their hands to themselves yesterday," the mercenary replied. Marth frowned at him.

"So…since when did you start obsess over Meta Knight? Besides, it's not like Meta Knight will mind. He doesn't care about it that much anymore, remember?" He asked with a raise of his eyebrow. Ike shook his head.

"What you did yesterday wasn't okay, Marth. You should've waited until Meta Knight was awake so you could ask him if you could take off his mask. It's the right thing to do."

"Ah, yes… So this had nothing to do with you doing something idiotic at the bar three days ago? And then keeping it from Samus until I got fed up with you lying to her?" Ike was silent. Marth sighed as the mercenary stopped in front of the hospital entrance. "You and I both know that this thing with Meta Knight isn't what you're mad at me for. But I also know that telling Samus was the right thing to do." The prince put a hand on Ike's shoulder, gripping it firmly for a second before walking through the giant doors. Ike stood still, gaze downcast as guilt again surged through him. He cleared his throat and walked through, sitting down in one of the chairs near Meta Knight's bed.

"Sorry," Ike muttered, leaning on his hands.

"It's alright," Marth assured. He yawned and stretched before taking out a crisp deck of playing cards. "Want to play?" Ike looked up and sat up with a smile, taking the cards from Marth's hand.

"Sure. Rummy?"

"Very well. Loser eats one of Peach's pickle cakes," the prince agreed, grinning at the look of disgust that crossed Ike's face as he shuffled the deck. Ike leaned forward to deal, casting a look of determination at Marth.

"You're on."

"Let the best man not throw up."


	7. Chapter 7

Later...

Ganondorf sat silently at one of the many cafeteria tables. Usually he never went here to eat, preferring to dine by himself or with a few of his fellow villains at one of the many restaurants in town, but today was an exception. The cafeteria was by far the best place to tap into the latest gossip, and he needed to know just how much the other Smashers knew about the latest "incident." The dark wizard stared intensity at his plate as conversation filtered all around him.

"He's in the hospital? Meta Knight? Of all people?"

"I think so. That's what everyone's saying."

"Hey Sonic, is that true? That Meta Knight's been hospitalized?" Ganondorf looked over his shoulder to see a very irritated look hedgehog ruthlessly stabbing at a plate of broccoli. The Ice Climbers crowded around the speedy mammal.

"Nah, I heard that Meta Knight was transported to a different dimension so Master Hand had to send Crazy Hand to go get him," Sonic said in a completely unconvincing tone as he massaged his temples.

"No way!" The Ice Climbers exclaimed in unison. "Wow Sonic, you're the greatest!"

Ganondorf barely refrained from going over there a knocking some sense into the two idiots. Sonic sighed.

"Yep, that's me! The greatest. Now do you mind not being around me for, I dunno, the rest of today? I got some really important things to be doing right now." Ganondorf turned back around, holding back a cruel smile. Good. No one knew anything noteworthy, and that was just perfect. He stood, leaving his nearly untouched tray behind as he left the cafeteria, the heavy thumps of his boots lost in the abundance of chatter.

* * *

Master Hand floated above a dark purple patch of dead grass, mentally picking out what kind of dark magic could have transformed an alien creature such as Meta Knight all the while bypassing the high-security charms Master Hand had placed over every Smasher. Master Hand hummed in thought as he slowly floated lower to touch the burn. A purple bolt of lightning stabbed his finger before he could and he jerked away with a curse. He growled lowly.

 _The offender must know me in some way,_ he thought to himself, _to know the reaches of my power._ Master Hand looked back down at the burn, then floated off to the mansion in the distance.

* * *

"Mewtwo, Zelda, I need your help," Master Hand said urgently, his body clenched into a worrying fist.

"What is it sir?" The princess asked, glancing uneasily and the giant hand's current position. The Pokémon glided across the floor to float beside her, gazing calmly at the fretting hand.

 _"Something is troubling you, Master Hand,"_ he stated, his mental voice reverberating through the room. Master Hand sighed, beginning to float back and forth across the appropriately large expanse of his office.

"Yesterday evening, one our own was attacked." The giant appendage turned to face the two Smashers.

"Meta Knight," Zelda guessed. "What happened to him?"

"Physical damage aside, Meta Knight's mind and being was magically transformed into a humanoid form. With the help of a magical specialist and a creature able to manipulate his surroundings with his mind, as well as reading the mind of others, I believe that I will be able to find the culprit of this crime," Master Hand explained. Zelda raised her brows.

"And I'm assuming you're recruiting us as your, ahem, 'magical specialist and mind-reader?'" She asked. Master Hand chuckled awkwardly.

"Your help would be much appreciated. Besides, there is a chance that Meta Knight's attacker could strike again, and it really irritates me knowing that there is a sort of trouble-maker within my mansion, corrupting it with dark magic," Master Hand said with a sigh. Mewtwo closed his eyes in thought.

 _"Dark magic you say?"_ He mused, opening his sharp lilac-colored eyes, _"This place holds portals to many different gaming dimensions. Possible suspects extend far. But, I believe that we will find the wrongdoer within the walls of this very mansion."_ Zelda nodded.

"Mewtwo's right. We need to rule out the people in the mansion most probable to do this. If we haven't found anyone yet, then we branch out." Master Hand chuckled with glee.

"Ah! Sounds like we have a plan then! The both of you have my permission to go. We start as soon as possible!" The two Smashers nodded understandingly.

 _"Very well."_

"See you tomorrow, Master Hand." As soon as they left, Master Hand slumped into his massive chair behind his desk.

"With those two on the case, the possibilities of Meta Knight participating in the next tournament increase two fold. And if he can't, oh dear... What a stack of papers that'll be…" He sighed.

* * *

 **I love Master Hand...**

 ** _mari3145_ : I'm not sure whether you got my PM or not, but when you put down a story and wish to add more chapters, all you have to do is go to your accounts settings, go to "Publish", click "Manage stories", find the story you wish to update, click it and there should be something that says "Contents/Chapters". So you go there and you'll see the current chapters you put up, to then you click "Post New Chapter." And voila!**

 ** _Abymoosh911_ : Yes, there will be pairings. Well, one pairing in particular but I don't believe everyone knows what it is... It's not Ike and Samus...**


	8. Chapter 8

When morning came...

Samus walked quietly into the hospital, holding a book in hand as she brought over a chair to place next to Meta Knight. She gazed at him, her blue eyes scrutinizing each little detail of his appearance. He appeared to be healing much faster than the average human, which wasn't strange considering he'd been an indestructible, immortal, rather powerful ball of air mere days ago. It was perfectly acceptable for him to have unnatural healing. Samus slipped her hand into his uninjured one as she did yesterday and opened her book but continued to look at him.

The Band-Aid had been taken off his face, fresh pinkish flesh having replaced it. The brace was removed from his foot and his right shoulder no longer was stained red. Although, a brace had replaced the cast on his wrist. His mask sat, touched only by Marth, on the bedside table, the brushed steel glinting in the light. Samus tilted her head to the side as she continued to gaze at him.

He had thick blue hair, a little like Marth's but dark and more faded in color. It spilled haphazardly over his forehead, the tips brushing the lids of his closed eyes. He had a small, pointed nose resting above a slightly parted mouth. Samus held up a hand close to his face, marveling at the contrast. His skin looked almost like porcelain, not a blemish in sight either, and while it was rather startling to finally notice that fact, Samus felt the slightest bit envious. Samus smiled and shook her head, leaning back. Though honestly, he looked like a dead angel. Scratch that. A _sleeping_ angel. She winced and finally opened her book.

 _If only he would wake up,_ she thought with a sigh before she finally turned and began to read.

Time trudged on by, only accompanied by a few yawns, page turning, and mindlessly drawled stories about the bounty hunter's adventures, before finally something happened.

"Samus?" Her heart stopped beating for a moment as she turned her head to find two glowing silvery eyes peering back at her.

"Meta Knight! You're awake!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet, her book falling, forgotten for the moment, to the floor. "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" He closed his eyes, a small frown creasing his forehead. His body shifted around beneath the blankets as he groaned.

"What happened?" He asked raspily, before he coughed and looked up at her tiredly. Samus sat back down and felt his forehead with her free hand, cringing at the burning contrast between his skin and hers. She squeezed his hand with hers before answering.

"A bunch of townspeople found you passed out in a field a couple days ago. Master Hand brought you here and patched you up as best he could, then asked Ike, Marth, Dedede, and I to come watch over you every now and then." Meta Knight's gaze remained passive for the most part as he processed this information. He shifted again, flexing his unrestrained hand and fingers, stretching his legs as well.

 _Wait…_

"What the-?!" He sat up, wide silver eyes darted between the blonde bounty hunter and his new body. He clenched his fist into his shirt, feeling his raging heartbeat pounding against his chest, sending ignored shocks of pain to his head, wrist, and shoulder. A heavy coil of cold dread accumulated quickly in his throat, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "What the hell happened to me?!"

"Meta Knight, calm down. It's okay-"

"Calm down?! _How could anybody be 'calm' in this situation?!_ " Samus grabbed his hand again, snatching his jaw so he would look at her.

"Meta Knight! Listen to me. Everything's just fine-" He tore himself roughly away from her grasp, his eyes turning a blazing shade of red.

"FINE?! SINCE WHEN CAN THIS SITUATION BE CONSIDERED AT ALL FINE?!"

 _ **Smack!**_

The force of her blow had swung his head to the side, a red hand-print appearing mere seconds later. Meta Knight felt a painful burning sensation on the left side of his face, his eyes prickling with tears that teetered dangerously on the edge of his eyelids. Ever so slowly, he turned his wide white gaze back to the blue-eyed Smasher, mouth parted in shock. Samus was biting her lip, cradling the hand she had hit him with.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she whispered, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Her chin pressed gently against the uninjured top part of his right shoulder, her embrace warm and comforting as Meta Knight's absolutely scrambled mind slowly eased back into a mostly calm state.

Meta Knight closed his eyes, forcing himself not move as his mind began to whir in thought. What had happened? He couldn't remember very clearly. There was purple fire and a big gaping hole opening beneath his feet. As he fell through, he remembered that the purple fire surrounded him and he watched it creep towards his face and turn his vision black.

 _Now to reflect on what in the name Nova happened a few seconds ago._

He let a deep breath go out through his nose as guilt rose up in his throat. He didn't think he was thinking at all when he started yelling at Samus. To run one's mouth without even thinking twice, or at all, definitely wasn't something Meta Knight should be able to do. He would've smacked himself if Samus hadn't beaten him to it. Thank goodness...

His body remained unmoving, stiff and could've been lifeless had the bounty hunter not have been able to feel his throbbing pulse through the flesh of his throat. Maybe freezing into a metaphorical block of ice was his way of dealing with issues he's probably had no experience with. Samus very slowly removed her arms from around him, cautiously so as to not alarm him into whatever _that_ was back there.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered quietly. Samus sighed.

"It's alright Meta," she replied. Another lapse of silence.

"Who did this to me?" The sound of his voice startled her, as did his icy silver eyes when she turned to look at him. It sent chills down her spine.

"We don't know. This morning, Master Hand told me he's got himself, Zelda, and Mewtwo on the case. Lucario's recently started helping too, but Mewtwo and Lucario got some sort of bad history so they kinda refused to work together." Meta Knight grunted in acknowledgement.

"Help me get up," he said sharply, throwing back the covers and swinging his legs around to the edge of the bed. Samus stood quickly and grasped his arm.

"You could still be hurt. Are you sure?" She asked, her worried blue eyes searching his. He took a deep breath and nodded. Samus brought him to his feet, and allowed him to cling on to her like a lifeline until he was ready to let go. Samus felt her face warm as she awkwardly stood there, watching Meta Knight stare at the ground in wonder. He let her go, testing his weight on his feet before walking in circles around Samus until he could walk without wobbling. He gave a satisfied "humph" and looked back at the bounty hunter.

"I'm going to go back to my room. You can go ahead and tell the others that I'm up, I'll be there," he said over his shoulder as he walked away. Samus was still experiencing the after-effects of utter shock even after Meta Knight left the room. She almost couldn't believed what she'd just seen and it wasn't until she pinched herself seconds later that she finally forced herself to get out of the door and walked to the cafeteria.

* * *

"Samus? What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Meta Knight?" Samus glanced at King Dedede and Kirby, both of whom who'd had seemingly materialized next to her.

"Meta Knight woke up. He said he was going to his room…"

"What?!"

"What is it Dedede?" Samus asked, a little taken aback by the king's outburst. The penguin shook his head.

"Okay, just how is he supposed to 'go to his room' when his leg's broken?" Dedede crossed his mittened flippers, eyebrow raised as he waited for Samus' answer.

"Well...his leg was never broken. It was just in a brace, and it was taken off today so I had assumed that it was alright for him to leave," she responded with a shrug. Dedede stared at her with narrowed eyes for a moment before dropping his hands.

"Well, did you give him his mask?"

"Oh no, I forgot! I'll just go-"

"Nah, I got it." And with that, the penguin pushed past her and left her with Kirby. The small pink puff lightly tapped Samus's leg, making her look down.

"Meda Knigh' okai, poyo?" He asked, his large sapphire eyes filled with hope. Samus felt her heart clench at the adorable puff's concern for his friend, so she nodded. Immediately, Kirby jumped in the air and cheered, stopped to hug Samus, then darted to the cafeteria. With a sigh, the bounty hunter turned for the cafeteria as well, her stomach rumbling as her nose caught a whiff of today's series of tongue tingling scents.

* * *

 **This was originally one half of the eight chapter, but I split it in half so my iPad didn't glitch on me. Last time it did, I lost an entire story...so yeeeeaaaaaah...**

 **Anyway Chapter Nine will be up sometime this week as well, feel free to review on what you think about this story, point out mistakes you find, give ideas, or give advice! Flames are unappreciated but y'know. We all need to vent sometimes.**

 **Responses!**

 **Guest: Sssssssssh...don't hate me for shipping... ;)**

 **Luna-Moon-Knight: Glad you like it! And I will continue!**

 **'Cause Meta Knight's a boss and no one can change that...**

 **EDIT: I'd just realized that I had cut off half of a conversation upon looking back and seeing it. I also saw a review from a guest that pointed it out as well and I'm sorry for that. So I'm just going to update this chapter and post the next one on Sunday so I have a little more time to edit the Ninth Chapter and so other reader might have the chance to read Chapter Eight as it should be. Just an apology for those who have already read it and a thank you to the guest who pointed it out.**


	9. Chapter 9

Meta Knight stepped through the doorway with a slight hesitance as he closed the door behind him, eyeing each detail of his room with a suspicious eye. The bed was made, his candy jar hadn't moved, the floor was spotless, the few trinkets he'd taken from the lands of Popstar and the surrounding planets were all placed in order by the dates he'd visited them were by the window, armor hung on the wall, his dresser...

There was never dresser there…

He sighed, his head falling back and hitting the solid wood. Bad idea, because it hurt.

 _Master Hand probably did this._ He stepped further into the room, rubbing the back of his head as his eyes rove around to see almost nothing else out of order. He was grateful, really, that things were added and resized to fit his new form. He glanced down distastefully, eyeing the extra limbs he definitely had not needed, and sighed yet again. He'd have to make do until he and the others could find out the cure for his...unfortunate predicament. Meta Knight strode over to his dresser, sifting through the contents before pulling out what he assumed was his uniform. A long sleeved shirt, a thicker gold-embroidered over jacket, deep blue pants, and a pair of purple socks were soon laid out neatly on the bed. He unhooked his armor from the wall too and laid it beside them. The knight sighed and stretched a bit, feeling remnants of pain from his injuries, specifically his leg and wrist, before shrugging out of the pasty white hospital garb.

Meta Knight glanced back at the vanity for a second, watching his features quickly contort into a glare as soon as he made eye-contact with the humanesque creature staring back. A sick feeling twisted in his gut and his jaw and hands clenched. Dear Nova, how he wanted to just... _kill_ something… He shook his head, forcing the rage away to the back of his mind as surprise took its place.

 _Goodness, this change has gotten even my_ head _out of whack…_

Meta Knight had seen Ike and Marth dress the few times he'd been to their rooms. They both seemed to perform the same strange ritual each time they prepared to put on an article of clothing. When Meta Knight asked what they were doing, they'd both responded with the same exact words.

 _"Checking to see if it's on the right side."_

 _How strange,_ Meta Knight thought to himself as he slipped his shirt on, struggling with one of the sleeves for a moment before he started putting on his pants. Next came his socks and over jacket, the latter of which magically fusing together in the front to keep it from falling off. Hm. Handy.

He slid his padded five-fingered gloves on next, marveling for a moment and the intricate stitching. His insignia was carefully embroidered on the backs of his hands, sparkling brightly in shades of gold, blue, and silver. The inside material felt soft against his skin, a high contrast from his rougher pair that had given him blisters when he'd first gotten them.

He sat down on his bed and pulled his purple metal-plated boots over and put them on, making sure to tuck in his pants before he strapped the boots shut. He took his belt off the wall where it hung next by the hooks for his armor and slipped it around his waist, fastening Galaxia to his left hip where he could easily reach her. Next came his armor. He sighed again.

 _Why do humans need so much clothing?_

He'd really like to know.

It took a while to put the dratted metal on and fasten the buckles to his liking, but after a good fifteen minutes of irritating buckle fastening and darkly muttered curses he'd successfully put on his armor with, ahem, minor struggle. The dimensional shape-shifting cape was by far the easiest as it, being the enchanted object it was, attached itself with minimal aid from Meta Knight's hands. As soon as the material clicked together beneath his oval ruby talisman and his white collar rose into a half-dish shape around his head, his entire body felt lighter than a feather. Which was much appreciated considering how he felt rather weighed down by all the extra articles of clothing, and how was he supposed to fly like that?

 _Flying! Do my wings still-?_ He felt his cape morph into massive demon wings which shuddered with the effort of staying furled in such an enclosed place. Willing his wings back into cape form, he looked himself over in the mirror. He felt like something was missing.

"But what is it?" He murmured to himself, frowning in thought. Rapid thumping at the door, broke his train of thought. "Come in." King Dedede barreled through, gasping and wheezing to catch his breath. It seemed he'd finally decided to do some exercise.

"Why is your room miles away from the cafeteria?! Do you know just how far and long I've been running?" The royal penguin complained, waving around a shapely metal object. He looked up, large blue eyes widening almost comically as he took in Meta Knight's appearance. "Samus was right. You _have_ changed from the little blue thing that was barely a two feet tall."

"Indeed." Dedede nodded before waving the metal thing in front of him again.

"You left your mask in the hospital! You should say 'thank you' to me for being such a considerate person!" At that last sentence, he drew himself up to his full height and stuck his beak in the air as he stiffly held out Meta Knight's mask in front of him. Straining to keep his face passive from the shock of Dedede actually doing something for him, instead of the other way around, Meta Knight took the mask from the king's oversized gloved flipper. He flicked his eyes up to the mirror and watched himself bring the finishing piece to his face. For a moment, everything was dark, before it all lit up in a familiar yellow glaze. The leather straps slithered past his thick hair and weaved itself through its corresponding piece, tightening itself to Meta Knight's point of comfort.

"Thank you Dedede. It was very kind of you to bring me my mask," Meta Knight said genuinely. Along with everything else about him, his mask had been altered too, although not very much, thankfully. The mask concealed his eyes, the crests of his cheeks, and part of his nose, but left the rest bare, and on a more drastic scale, vulnerable. The inside face was covered in a strange sort of material that felt smooth yet also sticky, which was rather strange to feel at the same time.

"Yeah, you're welcome you oversized metal blueberry. Now go say hi to Kirby before he has becomes all depress-ey again and eats the entire mansion." Meta Knight only nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

Ganondorf paced the dark expanse of his room, grumbling grouchily to himself. His brow was furrowed more than usual as he processed the information he'd received earlier that day. It must've been sheer luck that he'd managed to overhear Mewtwo the rejected Pokémon and that pesky little princess discussing who they thought transformed Meta Knight. Apparently, he was the first name to suspect, and upon hearing that, he'd left to revise the alibi he'd created in case such a thing were to happen.

The dark wizard turned sharply again and paced back towards his black tinted window gazing out at the grassy plains where said Smashers were picnicking. As soon as those nosy buffoons were convinced he was innocent, he'd follow through with next part of his plan. He sat in the large chair place before the window and with a snap of his fingers and ferocious purple fire burst forth from his fireplace, heating the depressing room. A sigh slipped from his lips as he gazed at the dancing flames.

He knew several creatures that wanted Sir Meta Knight dead as much as he did, and they were just the kind of distraction he needed for the band of sleuths currently on his ass. Perhaps Dark Meta Knight? No, apparently Meta Knight had mended bridges between the two, despite the dark counterpart nearly killing his light self. Galacta Knight? No, he's too sportsmanlike, and now that the battlefield was uneven, he would refuse the chance to reclaim his title. Zero 2, Drawcia, Yin Yarn, Nightmare, that strange band of mice, Magolor, all these villains from the blue knight's universe, and yet all of them were either dead, gone, or currently neutral. And he couldn't choose anyone from other universes either, since they most likely didn't know the knight. He stood, his mouth turned down, his eyebrows severely knitted together.

In his frustration, Ganondorf smashed his fist into the wall beside him, feeling the weaker plaster wall buckle beneath the anger powering his punch. Instantly, he felt better as he removed his dust covered hand from the considerably sized dent in the wall. Sighing, he began to pace once more.

Had he forgotten anyone? Perhaps. He wasn't an expert with Kirby's universe, and the only villains with access to dark magic without the aid of magical items were Zero 2, Nightmare, and...the jester. He suddenly grinned, fist in palm. Yes!

While the jester was intelligent, his insanity and hatred for Kirby would render him vulnerable to Ganondorf's words. He'd make it sound like a simple exchange of favors, Marx would eliminate Meta Knight from the Mansion, which would remove him from the unfairly ordered tiers, and Ganondorf would make sure Kirby couldn't participate anymore. The dark wizard gave a twisted smile. Neither Dreamlanders would even see it coming.

Sighing, he stood and walked over to his desk, opening the drawer and taking out a plastic bag. Now came the first step of creating his alibi. He placed each figurine faced forward on his desk, before he went and grabbed a stack of brightly colored books and magazines he'd purchased a day ago from beneath his bed. He'd also taken the liberty of making sure some of his files for ever getting them were set in spaced intervals, as well as checking to see if the book's publish date matched up with the set dates. He scattered them across his desk, taking a few and dog-earring random pages in each one.

He'd also bought stickers. Disgustingly horrifying, blood-curdlingly pink stickers. Oh Majora, how he wanted to regurgitate right then as he vandalized his place of peaceful writing with the flashy, idiotic sheets of sticky plastic. He swallowed down the bile rising in his throat and focused ahead on planning his task of meeting with Marx.

* * *

 **As I had promised, the ninth chapter is here on Sunday! Well, Sunday where I live anyway...eh.**

 **Responses!**

 **Guest: Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it! (And thanks for pointing out that other thing in the last chapter, and I updated it by the way so it's not too confusing...I hope.)**

 **Okay, for Ganon's little secret is a tight tie between My Little Pony and Sailor Moon. Which one should it be? Eenie, meenie, miney...**


	10. Chapter 10

_That afternoon…_

"Do you know what happened?" Meta Knight glanced up at Ike, metallic yellow eyes staring piercingly at the young warrior. The three of them sat around a square table in one of the town's many restaurants. Marth and Ike stayed perched at the edge of their seats, watching the knight's every move as he poked at his spaghetti with dull gray eyes.

"I cannot remember clearly, as I have said before," he replied, his tone lightly laced with annoyance. He sighed, feeling an odd aching in his temples, "Oh Nova, what is this pain? It's completely uncalled for!" Beside the knight, Marth gave a curious glance at him as he crunched loudly into a piece of toast.

"Where do you feel it?" Ike asked, leaning forward with a wrinkled brow.

"In my head, it feels as if there were invisible knives stabbing unrelentingly into my temples, and it's goddamn annoying…" The knight muttered crossly, roughly threading his fingers into his hair with a sigh, his eyes transitioning quickly into orange for a moment before they faded into a dim yellow. Ike and Marth exchanged glances.

"That's called a headache. It usually happens to people who feel tired, frustrated, or pained. Sometimes all three," Marth said, brushing a few crumbs from his hands. Meta Knight looked up at his friends through, pupiless yellow eyes eerily glowing from the shadows of his hair.

"Is that so? Well that's inconvenient. Is there a specific reason as to why humans experience this?" Marth bumped Ike's shoulder with his elbow, urging the other boy to answer. Ike glanced at the prince with an aggravated look before scratching the back of his neck as he tried to form an appropriate answer to the knight's question.

"Well...no? I don't know. But there's probably something in the library about that so…" Ike chuckled awkwardly, kicking Marth beneath the table when the prince smacked his palm against his forehead.

"Hm...I might look into it," Meta Knight said, standing, "but I'm going to go see if Zelda and Mewtwo got any leads on who did this to me." His tone and gaze had darkened considerably near the end of his statement, sending chills down Ike's spine. He'd seen Meta Knight angry before, but it wasn't like this. The knight's very being seemed to give off a dark aura, promising pain and suffering to whomever found themselves victim to the wrath of the most powerful warrior in the galaxy. With that, he left, leaving a trail of unease to all passerby. Ike released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Marth?"

"What?"

"Do you...think that there's something...well, _different_ about Meta Knight?" The prince rolled his eyes.

"Well yes, obviously." Ike frowned at his hands, which lay clasped together in his lap.

"No like, he's not the same person we knew from the Brawl tournament," the mercenary explained, looking at Marth, uncertainty reflecting in his eyes. Marth stared thoughtfully at Ike, digesting Ike's statement.

"He seems angrier," Marth mused, "like the thing that kept his emotions in check became unhinged…" Ike nodded.

"Let's hope that Mewtwo and Zelda found some lead. Maybe that with get him in a better mood."

"Yes, let's hope."

* * *

"What do you mean 'I won't let you help?'" The knight exclaimed angrily. Mewtwo shook his pale lavender head.

 _"You need more rest, more time to get used to your new body,"_ the Pokémon murmured, locking cool purple eyes with irritated orange tinted eyes. Meta Knight growled at the thought.

"I don't want to get used to it! Why should I get used to this body? I'm not even supposed to be human-"

 _"Meta Knight! Calm yourself!"_ Mewtwo cut in sharply, silencing the knight. The Pokémon closed his eyes for a moment, gesturing to the seat next to him upon reopening them.

 _"We already have enough people looking into this problem, and we don't want you getting hurt again. I'm sure we will find your attacker soon, but for now we need you to stay out of danger."_ Meta Knight grit his teeth, orange eyes transitioning into red, shaking hands curling into rigid fists. The knight bowed his head.

"Fine," he spat hoarsely as turned and left the room, somehow managing to not slam the door behind him. Mewtwo sighed with a shake of his head. Minutes later, Princess Zelda quietly entered the room, a tiny frown pinching her eyebrows together.

"Is everything alright? I saw Meta Knight looking while I was coming down the hall. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods. Were you the one the riled him up?" She asked, a brow raised as she set her inquisitive gaze on Mewtwo. The Pokémon shook his head and floated towards the princess.

 _"He asked to help us with finding the one who transformed him. I refused, of course, and he reacted like a spoiled child who was told he could've have candy for dinner. The Meta Knight we knew never would've felt even irritation from my answer, much less show it. Had he shown more control over himself, I may have allowed his help, but unfortunately that wasn't the case,"_ he said, coming to a stop in front of her. Zelda sighed.

"I'm guessing you want me to find a way to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt worse than he already is?" Mewtwo nodded.

 _"That would be nice, but he really should be helping himself. I'm sure he understands that there is a chance we may not be able to return him to his natural form,"_ he murmured, _"but let us not think of such grim things. I believe we should go speak with our prime candidate for committing this crime."_ Zelda frowned.

"I still believe we should lock him up just for being who he is," she said, turning a glare towards the door. Mewtwo loosed a small chuckle.

 _"As much as you disliked who he was back in your universe, you must remember that this place holds many new and different things that we Smashers have not had the chance to experience. He might've changed for all we know."_ Zelda only stared blankly, unamused.

"Right, and fish can fly."

 _"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they're called 'blippers'."_ Zelda sighed.

"Oh, cut it out. We got someone to interrogate."

* * *

 **And I am back...**

 **Hi...**

 **Responses!**

 **Guest: Thank you! I really have to thank the Internet for helping me form a good outfit for Meta in my mind. Praises be to the Internet.**

 **Sorry about the massive delay but I got obsessed with this game called Undertale and...well my life sort of revolves around it now. But! Do not fear! Before this tragedy struck, I had been so intelligent so as to pre write the tenth chapter! Chapter eleven is also on its way to completion! I just have to get my head back into a writing mood instead of obsessively drawing fanart of a certain cartoon skeleton...**

 **I also beat the genocide run several times without too much issue. I had more trouble with Undyne than sans but oh well.**


	11. Chapter 11

Three soft knocks sent Ganondorf leaping eight feet into the air, figuratively speaking. The dark wizard grumbled as he stood from his desk and walked to the door, opening it a crack and peering out, before he gave a loud gasp and hurriedly shut the door as he swore beneath his breath. _Let's hope I can pull this off._

"Hey!" An indignant voice exclaimed, muffled by the door, but Ganondorf paid it no mind as he swiped the contents of his desk into the drawers, the loud thumping making him cringe. He began cramming posters into the body pillow he'd just retrieved from his mailbox moments ago, and the knocks came again. _Dammit!_ He kicked the body pillow underneath his bed. _Just wait a couple more- there!_ He rushed to the door, opening it swiftly to greet an annoyed princess and one of the famed Smash Brawl Drop Outs. Ganondorf gulped and crossed his arms as he leaned against the door, an eyebrow raised.

"Do you two need something?" The dark wizard drawled in what he hoped would be an unconvincingly nonchalant tone. Zelda frowned suspiciously at her evil adversary as he stared at her and Mewtwo, his expression surprisingly clear of the malice he'd been famed for displaying in the cruelest ways. How dare he slam the door in her face and return as if nothing had happened? Her slanted eyes narrowed, her dainty mouth turning down on the corners. Mewtwo shifted slightly next to her, watching the two opposing forces stare each other down.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there staring at me like the dolts you apparently are, or are you going to tell me a stupid reason as to why you're bothering me?" Zelda scoffed at the wizard's rudeness.

"We're here under pretense of duty Ganondorf," the elf princess said stiffly, "We ask that you to cooperate with us." Ganondorf frowned.

"Depends on what you want me to cooperate with…" He said, his gaze shifting between two makeshift detectives.

 _"We just wanted to ask you couple questions,"_ Mewtwo said blandly, floating past the wizard into the dark room, _"That is something a person of your...intellect...can handle, yes?"_ Ganondorf glared at the uninvited intruder for a split-second as he levitated by, before turning to the princess and gesturing sharply inside his room. The princess complied without a word, gaze studying every aspect of the wizard's dark and rather depressing room.

Ganondorf shut the door behind him as soon as his unwanted visitors passed him, turning to lean against it while he frowned grumpily at them, nothing unusual in Zelda's opinion. Honestly, Ganondorf was always grumpy.

"Well, get on with it then," he said gruffly, cracking his knuckles, "I have things to do."

"Like what?" Zelda asked suspiciously. Ganondorf scoffed as he looked down to examine his fingernails.

"Well, Bowser's having a birthday party tomorrow, so Wolf, Snake and I were going to go get him a gift, and tonight the guys and I are going out to watch a movie," the wizard replied nonchalantly, silently thanking the fire breathing lizard king for having a birthday party right when he needed it. Apparently, the princess wasn't convinced.

"Uh huh. So what was with all that crashing before we came in here?" She asked, wandering farther into the room. Ganondorf almost didn't want to go through with the rest of his plan, knowing what kind of gossip could sprout about him.

"Bowser, Wolf, and I have been planning to prank someone, who's name I will not disclose, for the past couple days and I don't exactly want my plans to be foiled by snoopy do-gooders," he explained, hissing the last part as he shot a glare towards the two detectives. _The possibility of Ganondorf being the Smasher we're looking for are slowly dwindling_ , Zelda noted grimly, casting a glance towards Mewtwo, _His alibi would be pretty rock solid if the interrogations with Bowser, Wolf, and Snake correspond with his claims._ Mewtwo had closed his eyes in thought when Ganondorf began laying down his reasonings, a paw framing his chin and his head tilted down. Cool amethyst eyes slid open to piercingly eye the dark wizard, who promptly returned the look with a challenging one of his own.

Ganondorf's eyes concealed many things from Mewtwo, as was expected of people like him, but there were glimmers of emotion that he failed to hide. Unfortunately, every emotion supported his claim. But, Mewtwo still had a question for the wizard to answer.

"What were you doing last night between the times 10:00 pm to 12:00 am?" Mewtwo studied Ganondorf's eyes for any change. A dilating in the pupils, shifting in the irises, a twitch of the mouth, anything that would give something other than outrage and disbelief at the ridiculous question away.

"Sleeping," Ganondorf deadpanned, and Mewtwo humphed.

 _"Very well. That is all. Thank you for your time,"_ the Pokémon murmured, levitating towards the door. Zelda gaped at his retreating form, then sighed and followed. Ganondorf opened the door to let them out, muttering irritatedly beneath his breath. Once they had cleared the threshold, Ganondorf slammed the door shut, flicked on the silencers, and punched another hole into the nearest wall, next to the dent made from earlier that day.

"COMPLETE. FUCKING. WASTE!" He screeched, smashing his fist again into the poor, unfortunate wall. _All that time, all that planning...GONE DOWN THE DRAIN THANKS TO MISTER AND MISSES SNOOPING ASS-FACES WHO CAN'T DO THEIR JOBS WORTH SHIT._ He growled and stomped over to his writing desk, ripping the Sailor Moon stickers off the sides before spending the next fifteen minutes tearing the sparkly-eyed, stupidly grinning, sticky pictures of teenaged anime girls to wrinkled shreds on the ground. He was breathing heavily, sweat dampened his dark skin, his teeth were clenched, and he'd probably frothed at the mouth. Suddenly, his muscles went slack and his head thumped loudly into a pile of bright pink manga and he groaned again in utter despair.

* * *

Meta Knight lay in his room, the "eyes" on his visor dim, signifying that he was either unconscious or tired enough to be shut-eyed for an extended period of time. He believed it was appropriate to select the the latter of the two choices, for he was indeed quite fatigued. From the mental torment of not being able to do almost anything to help his situation, as well as insane mood swings he couldn't control, to the physical torment of headaches, extra body parts, and injuries, it was understandable that Sir Meta Knight, Head Knight of the Castle of Dedede, Defending Champion of the SS Top Tier, and wielder of the legendary sword Galaxia, found himself rather exhausted from the day's events at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Yes, quite understandable.

The knight groaned and rolled over onto his back, slipping his mask back to rest against the top of his head. His comforter was soft and warm beneath him, urging him to rest. His eyelids felt weighted as they refused to rise as his consciousness began to fade into the welcoming arms of sleep. Somebody knocked on the door and his eyes opened tiredly. _Can I not have even five minutes of peace?_ He sat up, rubbing his eye as he slid off the bed and began walking to his door.

"Come in." The door clicked open, revealing King Dedede, Kirby perched on his shoulder. The pink puffball lept down enveloped the knight's legs in as big of a hug as his stubby little arms could manage.

"Meda Knigh'!" He squealed, laughing with childish delight when Meta Knight lifted and shook the leg he'd latched onto. The knight sighed, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hello Kirby," he greeted at the giggling puff, glancing towards Dedede and adding, "Afternoon, Dedede. Did you two need something?" The penguin king gave a half-wave, then reached up and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, uh, not really…"

"Did you need to speak to me about something?" Dedede looked nervous. His blue eyes were comically large, he was sweating bullets, his beak twisting in a strange way to complete the epitome of discomfort.

"Um...sorta," the penguin king said, chuckling awkwardly, "uh, Meta Knight…" He took a deep breath before saying slowly, "Meta Knight. Are you okay?" The knight frowned confusedly at the question.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"Are you okay? Have you been feeling, um, weird, or something?" Dedede's face had scrunched up in the strangest way. He appeared to be half grimacing, half grinning. His eyes were nearly screwed shut. Meta Knight stared at the penguin in silence as the mood got increasingly awkward.

"No…?" Dedede looked relieved.

"Good! That's good! I was just wondering…" Meta Knight narrowed his gaze.

"Wondering…?" The knight's tone had darkened with what the king presumed was suspicion. Dedede gulped and his mittened flippers twitching anxiously. Seconds later, he sighed, his shoulder slumping as the nervousness left him. He trudged over to the bed and sat on it, the bed groaning quietly from the penguin king's weight.

"Meta Knight...we're worried. Samus, Ike, Marth, me, and even Kirby," he said, a frown beginning to furrow his brow, "You haven't been acting…yourself lately, and it's...well, it's scaring us." Meta Knight only stared, silent and stony, a slight frown pinching his eyebrows together.

"Meda Knigh'?" Kirby asked, squeezing the knight's leg gently, "Meda Knigh' okai, poyo?" Meta Knight looked down at the small pink puff, his expression softening, before he knelt down and picked him up. His eyes turned a calculating emerald green as he considered Kirby's question, as well as Dedede's admission of worry.

"Truthfully, no, Kirby. I haven't been feeling okay," the knight murmured, his silvery gaze dimming somewhat as he lowered his gaze to the floor, his tone becoming ever darker, "I don't think I'll be feeling okay for a while. Not until I get my old body back." The king scoffed, capturing the knight's attention. He set Kirby back down on the ground, despite the puff's protests, and turned on Dedede, eyes flaring a sickly red. The penguin didn't seem to notice.

"Meta Knight. It's not the end of the world now that you're in a human body-" He didn't know what, but he felt something _crack_.

"I'm not going to heed the remarks of an ignorant child. Don't presume you know everything, you incompetent fool," he spat, as if the words were like vomit on his tongue. His chilling voice was venomous, each word a sharp fang imbedding itself into the mind of the receiver, sending shivers down his spine as the poison sunk into his head. But Dedede wasn't about to back down, so he shook off the feeling and stood up, his flippers clenched firmly into fists.

"Okay, this is exactly what I'm talking about! You're not yourself. The Meta Knight we all know wouldn't say something like that!" The knight's lips thinned into a flat line, temper beginning to flare beyond his control.

"And what," he growled animously, "would he say?" Dedede blanched, then shook his head and looked directly into the knight's eyes.

"If you're so smart, why don't you find out?" Dedede sighed and motioned to Kirby. "C'mon, it's almost dinner time. We should be going." Kirby glanced at Meta Knight, worrying reflecting from his glistening sapphire eyes. The knight refused to look at either of them, his ruby red gaze glued to the floor. The pink puff a small, disappointed "Poyo," before he bounded onto Dedede's shoulder. What that, Dedede turned and exited the room, leaving the door open.

He hated himself now. How could he say something like that to his friend? Meta Knight grit his teeth, a sick feeling twisting in his stomach. His right shoulder was aching again, his ankle seeming to click and pop every time he moved it, his head throbbing fitfully. Not only that, but he still felt the remnants of his uncontrolled emotions. He didn't even know why he became angered. It just...happened. He fell back onto his bed, sighing as his mask fell off the top of his head. He rubbed his face with the heels of his palm before he dropped his arms limply onto the mattress. His hands clenched the blankets tightly in his fists.

"What is wrong with me?" He muttered out loud to himself. Silence. _Creak._

"What wrong with you is that you're hungry and you're not spending enough time with your friends." Startled, Meta Knight sat up quickly, immediately regretting the action as it put his head in a tizzy. His surprised white gaze transitioned back into a somewhat dull silver as his eyes managed to focus on the blonde woman lounging in the doorway.

* * *

 **I have like...literally no words right now. Um... So, that chapter that I said was almost done? Yeah, no. It was like half finished and I didn't like the beginning part of it, so I did major editing. I ended up deleting the entire thing and starting the chapter from scratch and then I just sorta...stopped. Then a few weeks later, I start writing again because my older brothers came back from college and one of them got beyond obsessed with Zootopia a started writing Fanfiction. Which, in turn, got me back into a writing so here I am now at 11:30 at night posting this...is it the 11th or 12th chapter? I have no clue. But! The next chapter has been started today and will be completed...when it gets completed. I don't plan on abandoning this story, only updating it...whenever...wherever... (No, not the Shakira song ya dingbats.)**

 **Responses!**

 **sakuralavender: Hm...yes, Sailor Moon was quite the leap for Ganondorf to take. Perhaps he thought that a guy like him becoming addicted to an anime of sparkles and magical girls was more believable than a guy like him becoming obsessed with a cartoon with friendship and magical ponies. And, um, I'm no Sailor Moon expert, but I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate being torn to shreds by a grumpy wizard with anger issues that rival the main character's. But hey, it's better he vent out his anger on non-existent magic girls than that poor, poor wall that had suffered so much that fateful day...**

 **Luna-Moon-Knight: You have no idea how hard I Undertale. Fanfiction (both reading and writing), fanart, fan-theories, AUs, SHIPPING, even group chats with my friends. I need so much help... And you're welcome! I'll try not to make the wait quite so long but...well, you all know me and my...ways... But I'll probably be focusing on uplaying my Undertale story now that I finally got this one updated.**

 **Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**

 **Well, more like ramble hopelessly, but you know what I mean!**

 **I think...**

 **Do you?**

 **Uh...**


	12. Chapter 12

"Hello, Ms. Aran."

"Meta Knight, you've known me for years, and you've only ever addressed me by my surname when you're either going to launch into some sort of lecture or you're upset about something. So tell me, which is it?" THe casually dressed woman pushed herself from the doorway and came to a halt in front of him, her arms crossed, her stare penetrating. He briefly wondered about the reason for her current getup, but instead chose to about the thought as he bowed his head, bile rising in his throat.

"Which option seems the most obvious?" He almost didn't want to hear her answer. It would only confirm that there was most definitely something terribly wrong with him.

"The second," she deadpanned. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from sighing. Looking up at her, he gave a tired smile.

"I cannot help but agree," he admitted with a dry, humorless chuckle. He was quiet, for a moment, before he finally sighed and flopped back onto the bed. He covered his face with his arm. Stepping forward, Samus raised a concerned brow.

"Meta Kni-"

"This is so goddamn pathetic…" Came his softly uttered whisper, " _I'm_ so goddamn pathetic." The bounty hunter almost face-palmed, her temper flaring at the self-depreciative tone his voice held.

"Get up," she commanded, her arms crossed. When he didn't move, she grabbed his forearms and yanked him into a sitting position. He threw her a half-hearted glare before he groaned, letting his chin fall to his chest in a show of fatigue. After a moment of feeling Samus's unimpressed gaze bore into the back of his neck, Meta Knight looked up.

"You're not letting me get out of this are you?" At the negative shake of her head, he ran his gloved hand through his hair as he stood. "So, where are you going to drag me?" Samus smirked in triumph, grabbing his arm again to tug him impatiently to the door.

"We're going to go out!"

"What?" Samus rolled her eyes.

"We're going to have dinner. Dedede told me on his way out that you haven't eaten since noon. That's like, six and a half hours ago." He sighed, hanging his head once more. Samus paused in the doorway, taking a glance at the knight's clothing. She shook her head, and he raised a brow. A feeling of dread set in the pit of his stomach. The bounty hunter stuck out a hand and pinched the hem of his cloak between two of her dainty fingers, tutting disapprovingly.

"This," she said, tilting her chin up at him, her tone adopting a high air, "will not do." And he sighed once more as he was herded back into his room. Samus trotted away from him to shuffled through his dresser, something that unnerved him somewhat, until he shrugged it off and trudged over to collapse on the bed again. After the bounty hunter pulled out what she wanted, she turned and tossed the clothes onto his face. The knight neglected to stir, feigning sleep, but Samus wasn't convinced. Again, she grabbed his forearms and yanked him into a sitting position. This time, he made a small exclamation of pain that made her smile as she caught the clothes that were catapulted from his face. To top it off, she dropped the pair of black shoes she'd been holding onto his feet, eliciting another groan of pain. "Change. Now."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Stretching his arms out, he took the bundle from the bounty hunter's grasp, setting it beside him in a single, smooth movement. He stood, untying his cape with a few twists of his fingers, letting it fall onto the bed behind him, becoming instantly reminded of the weight of his outfit as he took a moment to shrug out of his armor and over jacket. His thumbs hooked into the hem of his shirt and he began to pull it off, hearing a weird little "Eep!" as he pushed the crinkled fabric over his head. Upon dropping the shirt, Meta Knight gave Samus a strange look.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, feeling somewhat alarmed at the red-face woman gaping at him with a horrified expression while he loosened his boots, the metal making sharp clacking sounds as they came apart. She shook her head and turned around quickly, covering the bottom half of her face with her hand.

" _No!_ Nothing! Nothing's wrong, everything's fine!" She said, her words filled with nervous laughter, "Go ahead and finish changing!" Gazing at her for a moment in confusion, he complied without a word, slipping off his sword belt and stepping out of his boots at the same time. He then tugged his pants off and set his gloves aside before grabbing the set of clothes Samus picked out for him. His bare fingers met a smooth yet firm set of jeans of a faded gray-blue color. Tugging it on, he grabbed the brown leather belt formerly laying atop a white cotton t-shirt and deftly slid it through the loops ringed around the waist of his jeans. Slipping on the casual black leather shoes next to his feet, he threw on the thin white tee, as well as the soft gray long-sleeved shirt. Sigh, he stretched his arms above his head, his eyes crinkling shut as a bright light beamed into his eye. He glanced over, seeing his mask glint back at him. Humming in thought, he picked it up tied it to his belt before he ran a hand through his tousled hair and told Samus he was finished.

She turned slowly, eyebrows raising as her eyes captured the sight. _Damn_. That was the only word to describe the sight she saw. Coughing away her sudden feeling of awe, she motioned for them to leave and turned to the door. "C'mon! We got reservations for the new restaurant opening up downtown. All the Smashers were invited," she chirped, glancing back to see Meta Knight standing right behind her. She jumped a little at his close presence but tried to ignore it as she kept walking. He must have noticed her slight discomfort, as he quickened his pace to stride beside her. Meanwhile, the knight's mind whirred at the information she shared through speaking. He had completely forgotten about the said restaurant's grand opening. With all the hullabaloo flying around his life at this time, it had completely gone over his head. He had not even bothered to open the invitation letter, but it was safe to blame it on the stress of his situation.

* * *

 _He let out a loud groan as he entered his room, almost immediately collapsing on his bed. How could he feel so lethargic, when all he had done today summed up to an incredibly minuscule amount of energy consumption? Sighing, Meta Knight turned over on to his back, glancing at the small stack of his mail in his grasp. "Small" was actually an understatement, for there were two large sacks labeled "Fan-mail: Meta Knight" in front of the postal office section of the mansion's left wing. But, of course, he'd decided against hauling the monstrosities back, for a good reason. He would read the writings of a place crowds of frivolous girls later, once he was mentally prepared for what he might see._

 _Letter from Sword and Blade...He'll read that later._

 _Dark and Galacta with a letter probably filled with very colorful language. Again, later._

 _Invitation to Nova knows where. Something he knew he probably should read... He set it with the others on his bedside table, before he remembered something crucially important. Sighing again, he stood and trudged tiredly towards his bathroom._

* * *

"Samus? Did you happen to read the contents of the letter the restaurant sent?" She gazed at him from the side.

"Yes, of course! Why do you ask?"

"Could you give me a brief summary of what it said? I didn't find the time to read my own." Samus cocked an eyebrow. He sounded embarrassed about asking, as his eyes gained a slight pinkish tint and he seemed to be looking at anything else but her. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips as she thought for a moment. She must have taken too long to respond, for he muttered, his voice gravelly from the softness in his apologetic tone, "Forgive me, I'm used learning about things before they happen. I've never really asked anyone about anything before. I'm sorry if it inconvenienced you." Her eyes widened.

"Woah, woah! Hold on! I was just about to tell you!" She exclaimed with a voice wobbly from nervousness, her hand almost instinctively going to his shoulder. Wait, why was she nervous again? Agh, she'll think on that later. The pink faded from his eyes as they returned to their natural bright silver. He peered down at her through the shadows of his deep blue hair, his mouth slightly parted as he stared at her expectantly. Again, her throat went dry and she cleared it before talking, the hand that rested on his warm, firm shoulder beginning to feel numb as jitters skated along her arm. Man, what was her deal today?

"S-so, the restaurant is owned by some really hardcore fans of the whole 'interdimensional brawling thing' and was designed to look like a smaller version of the Smash Mansion on the outside, but on the inside, it's supposed to have a crazy amount of memorabilia from every single game Nintendo ever made, but mostly stuff from the game of the current Smashers," she said, retracting her hand to look ahead, feeling relief as the fluttering feeling in her stomach subsided somewhat, "The opening they're having tonight is purely casual, so you don't have to dress fancy. In the beginning, they're going to arrange everyone from the highest rank, which is you, to the lowest rank, which I think is Ganondorf, but once the owners of the place grab a picture of all of us, they'll let us sit where we want. I think everyone's going to be there." She chuckled, "Good thing I grabbed you, or we would be missing our Top Tier, huh?" Meta Knight's lips quirked up into a soft smile, his sparkling eyes crinkling up as they turned a happy shade of sky blue. The bounty hunter's stomach flopped.

"Thank you, Samus, for coming back for me." If words had the capability to melt people, her goopy puddle would have evaporated by now. But instead her knees felt weak, her head light, her skin uncomfortably damp, her face burning, and her tummy writhed with a sudden onslaught of butterflies. It wasn't pleasant for her, to say the least. She could only wish Meta Knight was as oblivious as every other guy that made her feel so unbelievably awkward. But of course, he wasn't nearly that dull-minded. "Are you alright?" He asked, concern knitting his eyebrows together as his eyes again reverted back to silver. She flinched, her mouth spasming to respond. It was then she realized that they had stopped walking and were standing in the middle of the sidewalk of the upper part of Smashville. She gulped, still trying to find words to explain her odd behavior. Well, what was she supposed to say? Tell _Meta Knight_ that the only coherent thing currently in her mind at that moment was the thought of sucking face with him?

…

 _What?_

Now, she stood wondering where her outrageous word choice emanated from.

"Samus!" She snapped back to attention, watching almost numbly as the knight reached over and felt her forehead with a hand, "Dear Nova, you're burning up! We need to get you back to the mansion." Reality seemed to then decide to take pity on the flustered girl and crash back into her head. She flinched and grabbed his arm, trying to ignore the firm definition of muscle she felt through barrier of his clothing.

"No, no, no, no! I'm fine! I'm fine!" She spluttered, plastering possibly the fakest smile she had ever made onto her face. The worry never fully left Meta Knight's face as his expression relaxed somewhat to gaze at her with a trusting, yet somehow disbelieving stare. Something about that look, completely drained her, the heat she felt becoming less stifling, the fluttering of her body ebbing away. The knowing look he adorned on his face spoke of understanding and wisdom, urging her to speak the truth to him, to help him understand her. She sighed, "It's really nothing Meta Knight. I'm just a bit nervous about the whole restaurant thing. I mean, I'm one of the veteran smashers! What if they ask me to speak? What would I say?" She chuckled uneasily, hoping her somewhat lie was believable. His gaze brightened at her false admission, a gentle smile curving his lips. Guilt washed over her, but she forced herself to smile back.

"You will be fine," he assured her, beginning to walk again, "I am absolutely positive that should they ask, the words would come naturally to you. You are a very bright and talented young woman Samus. An eloquent speech should be nothing to you." Again with the words, Meta.

"Thanks Meta Knight," she said, straining to keep the wobble out of her voice, "that means a lot to me." He chuckled deeply.

"You are very welcome, Ms. Aran," he replied, his eyes turning an amused pink, the color seeming to glow amidst the dark shadows his windswept hair and the evening sun cast upon his face. She probably would not have stopped staring at him had she not happened to trip on a convenient rock, which had again brought reality careening to the forefront of her mind. Opting to harshly pinch herself, she turned her gaze to dart around their surroundings, reading street signs, figuring out where to turn to reach their final destination.

"It's just to the left here. Riiiiight...there!" The bounty hunter exclaimed, pointing at what indeed looked exactly like a mini Smash Mansion. Meta Knight hummed approvingly, becoming increasingly impressed as the two of them drew closer to the intricate structure.

"The attention to detail is appalling. One would have thought it would instead be some pathetically cheap replica," he commented, "It even has the crack in the first left column Wario made last year." Samus almost laughed at his neglection to mention how it was the knight himself who punched Wario into the column in the first place. Something about leaving mashed cloves of garlic in places they never should have been, in Meta Knight's room, for example, was one of those places. Samus sighed softly and they continued onwards toward the large polished oak door.

The knight glanced at her sideways, giving her a warm smile when he caught her eyes. He grasped the door handle and stepped back, a welcoming light pouring into the street as the knight's gentlemanly action allowed the bounty hunter to enter first. The sight of the soft red glow that assumed the crests of the young woman's cheeks triggered the strangest of feelings within him. His fingertips tingled, he felt uncomfortably warm, he was light-headed, and every passing breeze sent tiny shocks down his spine. Blinking hard as he forced the strange reactions aside, he released the door to let it swing back into place behind him whilst the duo stepped into the light bathed lobby.

* * *

 **...**

 **Heh, remember when I said that I'll try to make the wait time less?**

 **Don't trust words like that. Ever. Especially from authors with a horrible reputation of procrastination.**

 **...**

 **im so sorry.**

 **Responses!**

 **Evening Emerald: Thank you!**

 **KaidaShi: Hey...have I seen you before? (*lols*) Thank you very much!**

 **I think I should stop making assumptions about when the next chapter will be up. It goes up whenever it meets the set quota, and if a chapter doesn't make it, I go BONKERS and try to make it up, which, in the end, takes more time.**

 **See you (after a debatably long time) in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Did I ever mention how much I love writing about Ganondorf in omniscient third person?**

* * *

"You weren't joking about the abundance of merchandise."

"Uh huh." The two Smashers gaped at their surroundings in absolute awe. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls, every square inch completely packed with everything from video games to clothes to toys, all arranged alphabetically by the Smasher of which said items were made for.

"This is almost creepy to even look at," Samus muttered as gazed towards the display case containing numerous items from her games, including a full size replica of her space suit amongst...other interesting objects. Meta Knight hummed in agreement before a strangled squeak stopped them in their tracks. They looked down the hall to see dark haired girl smiling at them as she hopped up and down excitedly. Upon seeing their gazes, the girl darted up to them, the massive grin still plastered onto her face as her deep brown eyes sparkled with enthusiasm behind her large squared eyeglasses. Despite her cheery appearance, however, something about her seemed...off. Both Smashers fidgeted in their place as the girl began to prattle.

"Welcome to the Smash Brawl Fan Emporium/Restaurant! I am so glad to see that you have been able to arrive, and right on schedule too! We were just about to round everybody up to take the picture! So Ms. Aran, Sir Meta Knight, would you please follow me?" She clasped her hands together, her jovial smile seeming to get almost unbearably sweeter. She turned and marched off, the knight and bounty hunter exchanged looks or wariness before trailing behind.

"As you can see, we own a substantial amount of memorabilia from nearly every game Nintendo had ever made, especially the from games currently participating in the interdimensional Smash Brawl. You name it, we probably have it. We also have access to interdimensional portals that lead to various game universes, because of this, we also offer tours of the lands within any designated universe, so long as we abide by Master Hand's rules of course. My personal favorite place to visit is the Kirby universe." The girl looked over her shoulder to give Meta Knight an admiring grin, "Your ship is amongst the coolest places to hang around in my opinion."

The knight smiled at the praise directed towards his ship. It was one of his prized possessions after all, and it truly was an object of strength and beauty that he himself toiled to build. Though he was slightly alarmed to know that this unorthodox girl had been allowed access to his battleship. His lips thinned as the girl continued to guide them through the miniature mansion, brows knitting together as she continued to practically skip down the halls.

* * *

Ganondorf lounged against the wall, glaring at everyone who bothered to look at him as he clenched and unclenched his fists. His "friends" had opted to steer clear of him, a smart decision of their part, as it was apparent that the dark wizard was in absolutely no mood for talking. With a stare as icy as the one he currently held, it was no surprise that even Snake wouldn't dare to strike up a conversation.

Ganondorf sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his teeth at the throbbing headache that had plagued him throughout the day. He sighed again, bringing his head across his face to rub the back of his neck, eyes flicking up to see Smashers milling around the room and chatting enthusiastically.

"Hello!" came a jovial voice to his left. The wizard twitched in surprise, head whipping around to face one of the townsfolk who, judging from her uniform, appeared to be an employee. Her rounded brown eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth, her rounded face framed by shoulder length dark hair, a set of squared glasses on her nose and a pan of drinks balanced skillfully on her hand.

"Did you need something?" Ganondorf asked gruffly, his tone obviously displeased with her sudden presence. Was this girl just dull or brave? It has always been difficult to tell which was which. She held up a glass of amber-colored liquid, the solution seeming to sparkle as bubbles flitted upwards from its base. He frowned, more confused than not, his hand drifting up to accept the glittering beverage. The girl only smiled sweeter as he hesitantly took the drink from her grasp, his own dark-skinned paw dwarfing the thin, feminine hand as possession over the glass was traded off. Giving a small nod of her head, the exuberant girl turned and wandered off, seeming to disappear within the ever shifting crowd. After a moment, Ganondorf grunted in acceptance, shifting the drink in his hand. The town was full of crazies anyhow. She clearly was one of them.

He took a small sip, wincing at the bite of the carbonation before he took to savoring the crisp taste of hard cider. Feeling more at ease, he took to lazing against the wall once more, his mood _slightly_ less murderous now that he had something pleasant to distract his thoughts. The wizard reached up and scratched his nose, sneaking a peek at the grandfather clock by the exit. The time was approaching where he could leave without being noticed by many, save for the few who decided against drinking excessively tonight. He grimaced as Captain Falcon and Snake began to warble slurred Christmas carols while Wolf stumbled around them, giving everyone he bumped into bone crushing hugs while he shrieked, "Happeh bir'day!"

Perhaps now was a more appropriate time to get out.

Giving a disgusted snort at the drunkards and passing a facepalming Fox on the way out. "You might want to take care of that," grumbled the wizard as the anthropomorphic space fighter sighed defeatedly.

As he exited the premises, he shook his head when a peal of drunken giggles exploded into the room he had been abandoning, following him until he reached a solid metal door behind the dining hall. He leaned back on his heels, assessing the strength of the solid structure before him. In bold letters across eye-level ran a warning against all guests to never enter the door without employee supervision, else they may suffer serious injury. But Ganondorf was not fazed.

"Hmph." He reached out to try the handle, almost surprised to see the metal plane drift open inches before he touched it. Jerking back, he gazed wide-eyed at the door, dark energy crackling on his fingertips.

…

The wizard's lips thinned into a flat line. Was this some sort of joke? He shoved the door agape, growling incoherently as he took in his surroundings, kicking the door closed behind him. He stood before a trio of glittering dark portals that churned in slow, sparkling spirals. He cracking his knuckles.

"...Hmph."

* * *

Marx carelessly danced atop his beach ball down the heavily guarded hallways of the insane asylum Kirby had admitted him into, wondering idly what other hospital the annoying pink hero would admit him into when he was captured again. His current lodging was a cute little place with nice doctors and nurses ( _very_ nice nurses), but unfortunately it was a bit too white for the jester's taste. What was it with that color anyway? Was it something about sanitation? Well, he could create bombs that were white, but he cannot assure that they will be sanitary. Besides, he preferred much brighter, louder colors, mostly to reflect his eclectic personality if anything.

Marx made a popping sound with his mouth, giggling manically when guards lining hallway flinched. If he bothered to recall, which he really didn't, he would have assumed that he had been here for a little bit over a month. If he cared to remember, which, again, he did not, he would realize that this was the longest he had stayed in one place. He would have laughed aloud at the thought. No doubt the institution thought their treatment was working. On any other day, he would have agreed, though, as much as he adored the skirt-chasing, the excellent food, and the lovely conversations with other patients about absolutely nothing that made sense, creatures like Marx were bound to get bored _sometime_.

He began to whistle, laughing internally when the guards again stiffened, grips tightening on their weapons. Perhaps it was time to get out? Well...he would have to start planning then. Or did he already plan? Maybe? Probably not? Meh? He was terrible when it came to remembering things.

Marx stilled atop his ball suddenly, his large feet perfectly balanced on the bright, multicolored beach ball. His gaze narrowed and the guards held simultaneously their breath…

He sneezed..then continued to trot down the hallway. A soft collective _whoosh_ came whistling down the stark white corridor, and all was calm and quiet as Marx rolled away.

But of course, Marx never really did think things through. He opted instead to go along his daily life making decisions (which would be akin to mastermind planning if he was sane) that would probably kill a lot of good people in the process. Which was why he randomly chose that exact moment to bowl through the wall on his left with a beam of light from his mouth and speed off into the night as the asylum exploded behind him, his pretty beach ball abandoned behind to be engulfed in fire. Hopping and skipping as he whistled some more, he skittered across the grassy lawn to the spaceship hangar where his golden wings were held prisoner (they were magically detached from his body upon his arrival, which was really rude in his opinion), bits and pieces of the hospital whizzing past him as he threw a small series of bombs towards the people guarding the large building. As they scattered away, the cutesy jester skipped happily past the soot-stained doorway, irritation flaring up when the motion detectors he neglected to care about noticing went off annoyingly loud.

With angry, flashing eyes, prickly vines erupted from the ground, crackling with electricity. The deep green tendrils wound themselves around door's electrical system and brought surges of power throughout the entire building's energy mainframe, overloading the maximum power intake and destroying every source of power within the hangar. Darkness enveloped the building, screams ringing out in the distance and elated laughter erupting from the confines of his sharp toothed mouth.

Man...he felt _so_ cool. The jester snickered softly, before biting down on his lower mouth to quiet himself. Sh! Quiet! Don't let them hear!

* * *

Now, Ganondorf was expecting the soft grass, the gently hued sunset, the cutesy setting of peace and calm, everything that certainly was expected of an adorable video game universe. But...he was not expecting the sweet tranquility to shatter the moment he gave a scoff of disgust. The pristine white building (a hospital, he assumed) roughly two hundred meters away, its blank walls colored pretty shades of blue, red, and orange from the horizon, erupted in numerous large explosions, the deafening booms mingled with screams and the awful stench of burning flesh and gunpowder that wafted towards him seconds later. It seemed that the world of Kirby was much darker than he remembered.

In short, the hospital blew up right in front of him. And the wizard was scared shitless.

Cleverly laid out fireworks shot out from the immense crowd of flames, painting images of golden wings and purple smiling faces and two tail hats against the serene sky. Ganondorf swore as he scrambled up from the ground, clenching his fists with a sudden flush of embarrassment. He shifted his gaze around, letting relief loosen his stiffened body when he saw no one had seen his moment of weakness, nor heard his absolutely-not-girly scream. He snorted and began to stomp towards the ruined building, dark eyes carefully tracking the stray pieces of rubble that still flew out of the fiery remains.

His heavy footfalls made light impressions into the soft earth, the grass around his feet dying the second he touched it. The dark wizard frowned at that. He wasn't even exerting any magic energy, how coul-

 **Thunk**. A bent iron, slightly melted sign had embedded itself a mere foot in front of him. If Ganondorf had been walking any faster, he very well could have been impaled. _**This** is the home of a walking wad of **bubblegum**!?_

Now he was wondering if he was in the right universe.

Inching away from the massive molten billboard sign, his thought racing as shock melding into a terrible antsyness, his palms and forehead becoming slick with cold sweat. Every happy-go-lucky world had its dark moments. This one was not any different. Ganondorf sighed, and trudged forward.

It was not long until another round of screaming and explosions (albeit smaller and much less terrifying ones) filled the night, making the wizard wonder for the first time what in the name of Vaati was going on. Crazed laughter was his answer, and he instantly calmed and decided that he was in the correct universe, only in an area ravaged by an undoubtedly senile and sadistic individual.

 _Thank Majora_. His work was nearly finished.

* * *

 **After nearly two months of wait, Marx finally makes his appearance, which was pretty hard to write for me because I've never written about him before and I'm not sure if I correctly wrote his character. But, oh well.**

 **Responses!**

 **LadySugarPanda: AH! A name change! I think... Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I should stop apologizing for a long wait for an update. I just don't have time to write anymore, which really sucks. However, I do promise to write whenever I can, even if it means procrastinating on writing my stupid world history essay. God, I hate that class.**

 **KaidaShi: Nice to write to you as well! Hello Shi! Thanks Khara! Eh, did I get that last one right...? Meh.**

 **Samudera Bintang: I know I need to update more frequently! It tears to pieces knowing, yet not being able to do so! And Marx is finally here! After twelve and a half chapters. And thank you so much!**

 **Guest: I have finally updated after five thousand years! And I'm honored to hear that!**

 **ToxicTurtle907: Thank you! I couldn't agree more about the update thing. Time just slips my mind so easily and the days just blur together. I mean, I forgot what day it was today and for the past week, every day was Monday unless someone told me otherwise. In short, I've been train-wrecking since school started and I seriously need a smack in the face.**


	14. Chapter 14

Sleep had clearly decided to elude him that night as Meta Knight tossed and turned fitfully in his bed. He sighed, sitting up slowly to rub his balled-up fists against his closed eyelids, his body fuzzy and distorted from fatigue. His head throbbed dully, blood rushing past his ears. He stretched beneath his blankets, joints popping and protesting as he quietly groaned at the sharp pin-prick pains they brought.

His silver eyes peered into the darkness of his room, piecing together the shadows of his belongings, the faintest sense of panic crawling up his neck as the quivering shades played tricks on his vision. He drew in a long breath, reaching up his arms to rake his hands through his hair as his eyes drifted shut. He allowed himself to fall back against his pillow which proceeded to floof around his head like a puffy halo, the fabric of his blankets following to pool around his waist. Aimless thoughts and images bumbled around his head, moving sluggishly as the knight's consciousness toed the line between awakeness and sleep.

For a moment, fiery eyes flashed into view.

Meta Knight jolted back up, his white gaze brightening the space around him. His pulse thrummed quickly in his veins as he released a few shaky breaths. Eyes like fire, red with hatred tinged with insidious shades of yellow, stark against the wash of olive green envy that surrounded the furious orbs. The warrior swallowed, his chest quivering from his attempts to calm the racing of his heart, and again he laid down, fatigue calming his frantic breathing. The glow faded from his silver eyes, dimming from his exhaustion.

And there he continued to lay in a fitful rest for the remainder of the night.

* * *

A light beeping prodded Kirby into awakeness the following morning. Soft childish yawns answered back at the repetitive noise. Wide sapphire eyes looked around in curiosity, wondering where the sounds emanated from.

"Piyo?" The puffball stood and began to wander around his room, looking beneath his bed, under his dresser, through his closet, to no avail. He sat and rubbing his eye with a stumpy paw, his stretchy mouth widening as he yawned. He felt a slight stinging between his eyes, his body stilling for a moment before he let loose a sneeze that shook his room, literally. Kirby shook his body before searching his room again, now pilfering through his dresser and bed.

Halfway through his bedside table drawer, his stubby paw bumped something warm and smooth, which he immediately grabbed and pulled out. Surprise, confusion, and worry suddenly clashed in a heated battle in the pink puff's head and he set a troublesome gaze upon the item in his paw. His warpstar had many uses, many of which Kirby was incredibly thankful for, however, there were few he did not appreciate too well. The use it demonstrated currently was one of them. The puff gave as sigh and popped the device into his mouth for safe-keeping as he padded over to his room door. As his feet took him to the cafeteria, he took to pondering which power-hungry creature could have wandered into this realm.

* * *

"Poyo poyo, poy!" Master Hand gave a startled grunt as he flinched, turning quickly to gaze down at the tiny pink puffball squeaking for his attention.

"Oh! Did you need something Kirby?" The hand inquired, lowering himself close to the ground. Kirby nodded his confirmation and spat his warpstar into his paw, lifting it for Master Hand to see. Seeing the blinking dot on the star, the glove emitted a soft "Oh!" of understanding.

"Well, do not waste your time chatting with me, go see what's the matter in our universe!" He exclaimed, immediately picking up the puff between his fingers and beginning to whisk him to his office. But Kirby's yelps of protest brought the giant floating appendage to a halt.

"What is the matter?" Kirby wriggled free of the hand's grip and gestured to the blinking dot.

"Yehyo."

"What?" The puff gestured again, repeating his phrase. Master Hand sighed, his wrist slacking a great portion of his body towards the floor before he twitched back up and made a confused gesture. Kirby huffed, irritated, and tried again.

"Yeh, low!"

"Yellow?" Kirby nodded. "What does that supposed to mean?" Kirby was quiet for a while, pondering how to respond. After moment, he said a single, clear word.

"Here." If Master Hand had skin, he would be paling.

"Oh...oh my."

* * *

Meta Knight groaned quietly as he rose from folds of sleep, rebellious blurriness clouding the molten sliver of his gaze, smudging his vision as he wandered to his bathroom.

The crisp coolness of the rushing water against his face shook him from his fatigue induced stupor, miniscule droplets dangling from the tips of his fussed hair, balanced on the gentle bow of his lashes, remnants of the chill dappling his features like morning dew on delicate petals of grace. The soft breath that escaped his lips painted the mirror in a whorl of fog, concealing his features from the blankness of his half-lidded stare.

He stepped away from the vanity, his face rising from the fading cloud of blur, his shoulder blades pressing against the cool plaster wall behind him as he leaned against it. The silver of his eyes melted into the emerald green of a serene summer forest, thoughts buzzing about his head while he studied himself as a whole, assessing his actions throughout the past week, his thoughts, his feelings, and how they had changed up to this point. This moment of clarity. This moment of neutrality.

It was almost a strange experience in the midst of the chaos that was he.

He pushed himself off the wall and ghosted into his room, a feather-light feeling fluttering behind his eyes and tickled his nose. Meta Knight shook his head, inhaling deeply as a hand rose and delved into his thick blue locks, tugging free from tangles before returning to his side in an large exhale. The silver sheen returned to his eyes, the green color receding to the mercury pools that now dominated the knight's irises as he divested himself of his clothing, donning in its stead his colors, his symbols, his armor, the physicalities he had bound his persona to, all of which he wore with the pride and honor he had sworn to forever uphold.

A prickle suddenly raced up his spine, making the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He kept his body relaxed, his expression cool and composed while he reached forward and curled his fingers around the edges of his mask. He could practically feel that deranged, fanged smile boring into his back. As he raised the brushed steel to his face, the world alighting in a brilliant yellow glaze, he asked calmly, "Hello Marx. How have you been?"

The jester was quick to reply, his voice light and chipper. "I've been great! Thanks for asking! And you?" Meta Knight grimaced.

"I've been better, as you could probably tell." The jester hummed in agreement, considering the knight for a moment.

"Yeah, that grumpy old guy said he handicapped you but wow, he really took it far, didn't he?" The knight heard the jester bound onto his bed with a light poff. Grumpy old guy? Meta Knight flicked his gaze over to his sword which lay mere feet away.

"Indeed…"

"But it is you!" Marx declared, "I know that because you're grumpy too! Ha!" The knight grunted.

"And who might this 'grumpy old man' be? Unless you had decided to take up a job with an unnamed employer, and, should that be the case, how unprofessional of you Marx." _Disdain_ _to bait out a prideful enemy._ As the knight expected, the jester scoffed and laughed nervously.

"W-well, I'm sure he mentioned his name somewhere, heh, uh…" Marx cleared his throat. "It was..uh..'Cannon-something' I think-"

 _Ganondorf_?

"-I don't really remember."

 _Liar_.

Meta Knight hid the surprised flash of white from his eyes by turning and leaning casually against his dresser, continuing on undeterred with a nonchalant tone, "Very well, could you do me the honor of explaining as to why you are here?" Marx's expression immediately brightened, a telltale tremor running beneath the knight's feet, causing him to bound toward Galaxia with outstretched hands. Spikeless vines shot from the carpeted floor instantaneously, restraining Meta Knight in mere half-seconds. The jester grinned joyously.

"Couldn't you already tell? I'm here to kill you of course!"

* * *

Master Hand had checked the security barriers once, he'd checked them twice. _Hell_ , he'd even checked them three times, but not a single ward nor shield was out of place. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Kirby, are you absolutely sure something is in the Mansion?" The floating appendage inquired for what felt like the hundredth time. The pink puff nodded vigorously, glancing down at his Warpstar before flicking his gaze around nervously. With a half-snort half-whimper, Kirby turned and started running down the hallway adjacent to the one Master Hand currently floated before. Panic rose in the giant hand. Kirby of the Stars was _never_ worried. Save for now and when Meta Knight was injured…

 _Wait_ …

Kirby was only ever worried when his fellow Dreamlanders got hurt.

King Dedede: accounted for and probably safe. He was in the cafeteria the last Master Hand saw. Meta Knight..not so much.

..Meta Knight...

The floating appendage flinched as a sharp cry echoed into his hallway.

* * *

" _All Brawlers report to the auditorium immediately. The Smash Mansion is under attack. This is not a drill. Report to the auditorium immediately._ " Master Hand's voice boomed throughout the entirety of the mansion, echoing through halls, silencing conversation, and pausing all current brawls. Soft murmurs filled the silence as the message was repeated, each Smasher obediently following the hand's wishes.

Samus hurried by her fellow Brawlers to the auditorium, counting heads as she passed by and accidentally bumping people around with her bulky power suit. She had made sure other veteran Smashers made up the back of the crowd, ushering the children, animals, and newer Smashers to the auditorium. In front of her, Mewtwo floated quickly, yet gracefully, through the auditorium doors.

"Mewtwo!" Samus called, her voice muffled and static from her helmet. Sharp lavender eyes turned to her, and she continued, asking, "Can you take role once everyone's in?" The Pokémon nodded his confirmation and drifted away.

Samus took to holding the doors open, patting the backs of every Smasher to pass her as she continued to count until Mario had brought up the remaining heads. As the doors were shut and magically fused shut, the bounty hunter counted herself and the plumber, feeling dread crawl up her throat when she came up a few numbers short.

"Shoot! Shoot! Dammit, who are we missing!?" Samus raked her eyes across the packed room, fists clenching. No one seemed to be missing. Perhaps she miscounted?

Loud, resonate banging drew her attention. Someone was trying to get in. Alertness sharpened her senses as she focused her aim on the door, her arm cannon humming as she charged up a blast.

"Hey! Let us in!" Marth cried, his voice muffled by the door. Samus disarmed her weapon and started forward before she was stopped by Mario's arm.

"How do we know it's-a really you?" The plumber asked suspiciously, a small fire blooming in his hand, "You could-a be a-"

"OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!" Ganondorf roared with possibly the most pissed off tone Samus had ever heard. Next to her, Mario winced and gave the crowd behind them a sheepish smile as Mewtwo unlocked the door to allow an angry wizard and an awkward looking prince who was carrying a portable toaster _for some inexplicable reason_ to step into the auditorium. Not a moment later, Diddy Kong came running out from around the corner at the end of the hall, a terrified expression plastered onto his face. An explosion shook the building, causing bits of the ceiling to fall around the monkey as he screeched and hooted at the debris.

Had this been a different situation, Samus would've locked him out just for kicks, but that was, unfortunately, not the case.

Once all creatures were safely inside, Mewtwo did a roll call.

Newcomers went first.

Brawlers next.

Melee third.

Smashers last.

And two names were missing.

* * *

 ***updates quietly so no one will notice the absence, as well as the impending absence of the next chapter that may or may not come within the next week, or month***

 ***stage whisper* Responses!**

 **LadySugarPanda: Thank you so much! You have no idea how much it means to me to see you say that. Whenever I take so long to update or lose the drive to write, I always feel like I'm letting everyone down and in all honesty, letting down the people I care about has been my worst fear for a very long time. So thank you. So much.**


	15. Chapter 15

Electricity coursed through his whole body, scorching, overstimulating, and frying his nerves as a drawn out scream of sheer agony tore through his vocals, stripping his throat raw and filling his ears with sharp ringing. Tears streaked from the corners of his eyes, and blurred his sight whenever he could manage to open them. He thrashed violently against his restraints, the spelled iron and steel groaning at his efforts. The pain was excruciating, the epitome of pure suffering. The world around him seemed to fade in and out of blackness and dim, blurred colors.

Marx had spent the better part of the last few hours _experimenting_. Meta Knight, unfortunately, was his latest test subject. Kirby had passed out in the corner of the room within the first few minutes of torment, too exhausted and shattered to scream. After giving Meta Knight a thorough once-over, Marx had found it amusing to force the younger puff into a humanoid form as well, much to Meta Knight's enragement as he had sat nearby, bound and helpless. The child's screams echoed in his ears as much as his own, only adding to the infuriating ringing.

The surging electricity stopped and the knight's entire form went slack.

Meta Knight would have cried if he didn't know the torment wasn't nearly over.

"So! Still holding on are ya?" Marx's jubilant voice barely filtered through. The knight did not answer. He was not sure he could anyway. Instead, he opted to merely stare blankly towards the ceiling. The jester tutted disappointedly.

"What's the matter? Murderer stopped your heart?" The creature bounded onto his chest, eliciting a pained grunt of surprise from the knight. Meta Knight glared at him, causing the maniac to bellow out bales of shrieking laughter.

"Aw, is the big bad jester hurting your wittle knightwy feewings?" The knight's fury roiled hot behind his eyes, a sick twisting setting his blood on fire, something beyond the most fiery of anger gripping him, shattering all sense of restraint the knight had forced upon himself. His finely honed sensibility, his delicate self-control, fell away into the depths of his mind to be suddenly overtaken by the purest of beast-like instinct. But the raging inferno within him cooled quickly, and black ice began to form in its absence.

" _I'm afraid not._ " Marx looked at him, surprised by his frigid response. Meta Knight's red gaze had transitioned into a near black, a chilling cobalt color washing over his navy locks as surges of power began to radiate from him. The jester leaped away, a maniacal smile stretched tightly across his features. Slowly, the knight rose from the floor, what spelled bonds that had held him melting as metal came into contact with his own brand of power that shuddered and simmered at his anger. Marx felt the faintest sense of unease prodding at the back of his jumbled mind. How.. _odd_.

"It's nice to see you go back to your roots Meta! Isn't it a relief to return to the monster Nightmare intended you to become?" Marx's eyes twitched around the room, no doubt looking for a way to escape. Meta Knight stood, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he bared sharp canines.

 _Um..those weren't there before._

The air by the knight's fingertips rippled and quivered as two crystalline blades of corrupted purple light formed in his hand. The knight's leathery wings unfurled from his cape and spread, casting half the room in shadow.

 _Shit, time to bail._ He'll murder the old man later. For now, getting out of this situation alive would bring back his good mood. _But first, how do I actually do that?_ This would be so much simpler if he didn't have to rely on the sane portion of his mind. _Damn, those human creators for making me have split personalities!_ The lights flickered ominously and Marx gave a startled hiss, his golden wings twitching anxiously.

" ** _Indeed_**." Several things happened at once as soon as the word left the knight's lips.

The room rumbled.

Crimson eyes flashed.

And Meta Knight lunged.

* * *

A loud _boom_ shook the building, making the lights flicker as soft gasps rang out around the room. Silence soon lapsed within, only disturbed by the creaking and crumbling of the Mansion, until the structure stilled. Hushed conversation began to fill the room almost nervously. Nearly every Smasher was on edge, wondering what emergency could possibly be so dangerous that powerful heroes and villains alike had to be huddled out of harm's way. The answer, of course, they knew, but still they wondered.

Should their mutual oppressor be as scheming and powerful, or more so, than Tabuu, chances of survival would diminish to a very low number. All who had been present during the final battle knew, that it was chance that Kirby had been revived. Pure chance Tabuu had even been defeated. Rumbling made the lights flicker again and everyone simultaneously held their breath.

Ike, who had just finished chastising Marth for _bringing a goddamn toaster of all things_ , grabbed the prince's shoulder for balance, ignoring the complaints at the action. A collection of exhales sounded when the movement again halted. King Dedede pushed by them, his eyes flitting around the room frantically. Ike glanced around too, despite already knowing the penguin's fellow Dreamlanders were nowhere to be found.

"Where are they?" The king muttered beneath his breath worriedly as he continued to wander around, Ike following him curiously. He tore his hat from his head and viciously scrubbing away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, making his short blue feathers stick up in strange places. The poor penguin looked positively frazzled, sweat-drenched in anxiety and worry. Suddenly, he groaned and buried his face in his hat, moaning, "Dammit, this is all my fault! I should've kept a better eye on them!" Ike frowned.

"Dedede, I'm sure they're fine. I saw Kirby with Master Hand earlier today, and Meta's very much able to take care of himself, human or not," Ike placated, snatching the hat out of the king's mittens and plopping it onto his feathery head. King Dedede glared at him half-heartedly before turning away, begrudgingly grunting in disbelief. Ike couldn't blame him. He scarcely believed his reason himself.

The mercenary sighed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as he looked around the room again. Marth had started entertaining the children with his toaster; Falco, Wolf, and Fox were arguing with Bayonetta about their guns; and the princesses and Rosalina were suspiciously giggling over something. The first made Ike raise a brow in slight concern, and the other two made him roll his eyes. So far, they were the most interesting groups. Ike chuckled and continued to look around, his eyes catching onto...

 _Wait_ …

 _ **What is he doing!?**_

A little blue...robot.. _thing_ had just given Samus, who was still in her massive orange power suit, a flower.

A _flower_.

And…

The little bastard was blushing!

Jealousy roiled sickly in his stomach, tingling his fingertips as he started forward. Ike's fists were clenched, a growl rising in his throat, his face beginning to contort into a-

The mercenary stopped abruptly, his expression melting into surprise as he watched Samus bend to take the small plant, lifted her visor, and slipped it into her hair with a small smile at the boy. Ike bit his lip, his head bowing slightly in shame. There was nothing he could do. He'd thrown away their relationship days ago, and he doubted Samus would appreciate him butting into her life after he screwed everything over. She could be with whomever she pleased, whenever she pleased, and he could not do anything about it. Not anymore. He sighed again and turned away, wandering over to Marth and plopping onto the ground next to him with a quiet huff.

The prince made no move to acknowledge his presence, so Ike went ahead and proceeded to swipe the freshly made piece of toast from the other boy's hands. Ness, Lucas, and the Ice Climbers giggled as Marth gasped in faux horror, clutching at his heart.

* * *

Marx whizzed through the never ending expanse of corridors within the mansion walls, his sharp teeth gnashed together in effort as he dodged yet another powerful sword beam. Meta Knight was a rippling black shadow behind him, darkness trailing at his feet as he continued to pursue the little purple jester. Marx choked back a scream as a mirror-like mirage of a sword impaled itself into the wall beside him. Desperation shut down parts of his mind he didn't even know he used, let alone had, pouring every nuance of his being into powering his movements into getting away from his most-likely-imminent death.

"H-hey! I'll help you get the guy who turned you human in you let me live!" Marx shouted between breaths. _C'mon, buy it you stupid-_ Meta Knight snarled and picked up his pace, sending more sword beams his way. Shit.

Marx gave a sharp turn, barrelling through a wall and tumbling to the ground as his wings suddenly gave out. Gasps and shrieks of surprise, along with some hissed curses and muttered exclamations of pain, sounded around him as he skidded on the ground, coming to a sudden halt against a pair of thick, menacing dragon legs. Groaning, he raised his scratched face to come eye to eye with a really..big..turtle? The beast grunted at him in question, leaning down to scrutinize the little disturbance at its feet.

"Who are you?" The lizard growled, brow furrowing deeper into its face. Marx stared at the thing in bafflement before a deeper, more feral rumbling rolled into the room, effectively silencing the outbreak of frantic conversation throughout its occupants. The dark figure of his pursuer stepped out of the shadows, snarling quietly at the light. His dark eyes surveyed the area, his nose twitching every so often in search of the scent of his prey. His muscles visibly tensed for a heartbeat before he zeroed in on the disoriented jester struggling off the floor.

"What is that?!" A blonde boy with a sword nearly as large as he was exclaimed. Several of the creatures around him quickly settled into fighting stances. Meta Knight snarled at them, the majority of his attention still fixated on Marx, despite the threat of the others crowding around his target. Marx shook his head and rolled to his feet, breaking off in a mad dash to the door. The demon knight growled, a low rumble from deep within his chest as he tensed in wait.

"Marx?!" A familiar, yet ignored, voice cried out in surprise. Marx kept running.

The exit was so close. So damn _close_.

Ah, but no cigar.

Marx suddenly gave a strangled screech as the ground in front and around him cracked, inciting a wave of dust to shroud the rippling dark form rising from the rubble. Two vivid red orbs gleamed at the jester, making him idly wonder if the knight was mocking the shade of his own scarlet eyes. He then deemed the thought unnecessary for his survival as an inhuman chuckle cut into the air, making Marx's unstable mind momentarily blank with an animalistic fear.

Meta Knight began to quietly approach, a gleaming fanged smile visible even through the clouds of dust. Or perhaps that was just Marx's fear induced hallucination. Either way, it was terrifying.

"Hold it right there!" Marx watched as Meta Knight froze at the voice, ruby gaze darkening as they flicked upwards. The jester twisted around to gaze at a tall, orange, robot thing, a glowing, green arm gun fixed on the knight. _Thank Nova_. Marx scrambled towards the orange creature, cowering behind its shiny metal legs. Meta Knight's expression was void of emotion, a smooth, pale, unblemished statue-esque look that was distinctly inhuman, and menacing. Angry tendrils of energy rippled around him, twitching and jumping along with the jester's erratic breathing. And Marx thought he was scary in his Soul form. The functioning, and sane, part of his mind had different opinions, unfortunately.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" The knight made no movement to obey her order, so she continued, "There are over 40 powerful fighters in this room, so unless you have a death wish, you'd cooperate!" Meta Knight stared for a few moments longer, before the corner of his mouth lifted in a cruel smirk.

" _A pathetic band of misfits protecting a ruthless murderer,_ " his distorted voice rumbled as he shook his head, " _Disgusting_."

"How can I be a murderer when you're the one trying to kill me!?" Marx squawked, faking bafflement. He fixated a wide-eyed, fear-filled gaze onto the knight, shivering visibly against the orange thing's leg. Murmurs sounded behind him and Marx inwardly celebrated when more stepped forward, shielding him against Meta Knight's stark red gaze. Meta Knight snarled at the movement.

" _This conflict is between you and I, Marx,_ " he growled, " _Put aside your cowardice and **FACE ME**!_ "

"No thanks." The orange robot shuffled a bit, messing with the controls on her arm gun. The gun shifted, transitioning from a glowing green to a bright blue light.

"You have five seconds to put your weapon down and surrender before I blow you to bits!" She shouted, stabbing her gun towards the knight threateningly. "One! Two! Thre-"

Meta Knight lunged once more, sweeping his sword in a large arc, sending a large wave towards the line of Smashers. As expected, many were knocked back, but Samus remained at the front line, determined to protect the monster cowering behind her. Meta Knight's stomach twisted sickly and his eyes darkened once more. Stupid girl. Their weapons collided with a reverberating ring and the bounty hunter's sturdy defensive stance gave way slightly, digging into the floor, leaving an imprint of her feet in the solid ceramic tile. The knight could see her gritting her teeth through the tinted green of her visor, her eyes squinted in effort to hold him back. He gave a soft snort, flaring out his wings and giving one strong wingbeat to distance himself from her.

She immediately reacted, dashing forward, missiles shooting on rapid fire from her gun. Mid-flight, Meta Knight morphed his wings into cape-form and threw up its hem, spreading the material in the air as he willed a dimensional portal to appear within the dark fabric. The missiles disappeared into the knight's cape and he twisted in midair before landing in a crouch. His wings spread upwards before curling forward, flaunting their menacing size as he stood, making the smirk the appeared on the knight's face all the more infuriating and cocky. Explosions shook the building, raining dust upon the two fighters as Samus leapt forward again, hurling her electrical grapple towards the knight. He ducked around the bright, crackly beam and stabbed his sword into her pauldron, barely missing her bicep. He proceeded to throw her through the tough exit doors, shattering the magical barriers and splintering the dark wood.

"Let's go!" Fox barked somewhere behind him. "Samus needs our help!" Meta Knight turned his head towards the voice, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed fiercely. His energy swords glowed brightly before he sent two wide arced sword beams into the ceiling and the ground. As he expected, the ceiling collapsed as much of the floor partially crumbled into the basement below. Dust exploded into the air, reducing the warriors' vivid outlines to indistinguishable masses of shadow. Convinced the other Smashers were successfully hindered, the knight gave a satisfied "humph" before ghosting towards Samus's fallen form.

* * *

 **Oh damn it's been a hella long ass time. But that's to be expected from _moi '_ cause I'm inconsistent AF. Unless consistent inconsistency is considered consistent.**

 **...**

 **say that five times fast.**

 **Responses!**

 **EveningEmerald: YASSS MARX! Thank you! And I'll try to keep writing daily.**

 **Abymoosh911: If leaving cliffhangers for every chapter were a crime, I'd be guilty as charged. *snort, snort* bad jokes are bad. Don't actually call 911 on me. And thank you!**

 **Anyway, R &R and feel free to tell me how I did!**

 **Bye~**


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